Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ:SBUX) Chairman Howard Schultz thinks the coffee chain can have its cake and it too.
In an interview with Bloomberg News, Schultz argued that the Seattle-based company can preserve the intimate nature of Starbucks even as it adds seen new stores a day.
``This is really hard to do,'' he said. "And because very few people have done it before, they're out there waiting for us to fall.''
There are indeed plenty of skeptics.
Shares of Starbucks have dropped more than 11 percent this year amid investors' concerns about Schultz's ambitious expansion plans and growing competition for the caffeinated consumer from rivals such as McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD).
Analysts are far more bullish on the stock. Their median 12-month target is $43, more than $10 above where it trades today.
In his interview, Schultz said that consumers want more Starbucks, particularly in urban areas. That may be so, but the question is how many. There are more than 200 in Manhattan.
Do people really need a Starbucks on every block?
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