Java King: Starbucks Versus High Point Coffee

Seattle-based Starbucks recently announced another price increase for all milk-based beverages at the largest coffeehouse/coffee bar chain in the world. With its trendy appeal and shop on every block personality, Starbucks built itself into one of the premiere brands in the world alongside Google, McDonalds, and Coke. With growth comes competition from all directions. Along with longtime Starbucks enemy Dunkin Doughnuts, a new contender for the java king title has emerged as new java joint, High Point Coffee pushes its way into the fray.

Based in Mississippi, the newbie java spot has only been in business for less than five years. However, with its surge in revenues and customer retention, executives recently decided to push the brand nationally, going into direct competition with what they call the 100-lb gorilla, Starbucks. With its 12,000 stores, it would seem far fetched to compete in a head-to-head battle; however, the founder of High Point Coffee, Thomas Blanche is confident that the High Point Coffee brand will be equal with that of Starbucks.

As noble as that goal is, very little is known about High Point nationally. When Starbucks went national fifteen years ago, it was in a similar place as High Point. With mass appeal in Seattle and the surrounding areas, Starbucks' brand had little immediate buy-in for consumers. What Starbucks had that High Point will not is first to market ability. When Starbucks began its growth spurt, if a person wanted a cup of coffee, they went to McDonalds. And they certainly did not pay five dollars for it. When a Starbucks opened in a community, it did so without competition. High Point Coffee will be entering saturated territories with Dunkin Doughnuts and other independent coffeehouses and coffee bars in addition to Starbucks.

With that fact it would seem impractical to create a war with such a dominant force. But in Memphis, High Point Coffee placed a newly opened location one block away from an entrenched Starbucks locale. Let the war begin!

The deciding factors