Starbucks steams up with price hike, now costlier than Thailand’s minimum wage

[Denim]

15 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

Not much of a fan of either, Amazon or 7-11 Cafe coffee.  TBH, I'd rather just drink the Hazelnut flavored instant for 20 ish baht that's offered at 7-11.

 

Inthanon at Bangchak petrol/CS is wee bit better, but not something I'd actually recommend to a coffee drinker.

 

 

Yes. Totally agree and that's what I was refering to. The first time I got that DIY hazelnut coffee from a 7/11 gas station heading north out of Bangkok I was smitten. Really liked the taste as did the wife.  Unfortunately seems to be as rare as hens teeth and not been able to find any since.. But as you say , coffee afficionados will call this heresy and like to hang draw and quasrter us on the forecourt as a warning to others.

 

Another place that does really good , made from scratch coffee is a little stall at a coach truck stop at Chai Badan heading south to Bangkok. Always pull in there to eat and grab a coffee.  Served in a paper cup but always piping hot and well worth 25 baht.

[Bangkok Barry]

13 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

The key word is sitting...  Generally, when I'm in a Starbucks, I'm renting a nice place to sit for awhile, and they throw in a coffee.  Sometimes, I rent a cheaper seat and they just throw in a water.  I could get the water cheaper at 7/11 but they don't have nice seats.

 

 

You touch there on something that has puzzled me for a long time. The aim of any restaurant or similar is to get as many bums on seats as possible, to get people in and out in the quickest possible time. Yet Starbucks does exactly the opposite, encouraging people to linger instead of freeing up seats for others.

 

Obviously it works, but I have no idea how. Maybe by charging double for their coffee? Nothing wrong with that, as there are clearly those who prefer comfort to saving money. Certainly their coffee is nothing special. My favourite is actually at McDonalds, but it's all down to personal taste, isn't it.

[BritManToo]

2 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

The aim of any restaurant or similar is to get as many bums on seats as possible, to get people in and out in the quickest possible time. Yet Starbucks does exactly the opposite, encouraging people to linger instead of freeing up seats for others.

That's because Starbucks is run as a gay charity that happens to sell coffee on the side.

[freeworld]

27 minutes ago, impulse said:

 

The key word is sitting...  Generally, when I'm in a Starbucks, I'm renting a nice place to sit for awhile, and they throw in a coffee.  Sometimes, I rent a cheaper seat and they just throw in a water.  I could get the water cheaper at 7/11 but they don't have nice seats.

 

The key word is selling coffee and sugary creamy sweet calorific drinks and snacks.

 

Thats where they make their money.

[freeworld]

39 minutes ago, Celsius said:

Their other non coffee products are made with low quality stuff that would be banned in any civilized country

Do you have evidence of that?

[Woof999]

2 hours ago, RichardColeman said:

Still looks cheap compared to the lunatic McD prices in nutty California due to the idiot Newsome increasing min wage to a wage breaking businesses and laying people off

 

How dare he force big healthcare to pay their workers $1000 for a 40 hour week, or force huge American McCorp to pay their workers $800 for 40 hours. The land of the free, the land of opportunity eh?

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

One cup of coffee from Starbucks is now more expensive than Thailand’s national minimum wage.

Nonsense.  Unless the article is referring to just one particularly expensive coffee option on their Thai menu.  Plenty of coffee options for much less than B300+.

[bamnutsak]

AFAIK, ThaiBev is the sole franchiser of Starbucks here through their Coffee Concepts subsidiary (with Maxim's Caterers and F&N Retail)

 

4,000+ employees.

 

465 branches.

 

800,000 customers per week.

 

Year 2021, total income 6,135.81 million baht, profit 164.65 million baht

 

Year 2022, total income 8,389 million baht, profit 833 million baht.

 

 

Seems like a very positive story.

 

 

 

 

 

[impulse]

19 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

That's because Starbucks is run as a gay charity that happens to sell coffee on the side.

 

Don't sugar coat it...  How do you really feel about Starbucks?

 

[freeworld]

31 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

AFAIK, ThaiBev is the sole franchiser of Starbucks here through their Coffee Concepts subsidiary (with Maxim's Caterers and F&N Retail)

 

4,000+ employees.

 

465 branches.

 

800,000 customers per week.

 

Year 2021, total income 6,135.81 million baht, profit 164.65 million baht

 

Year 2022, total income 8,389 million baht, profit 833 million baht.

 

 

Seems like a very positive story.

 

 

 

 

 

About 3% profit in 2021 to 10% profit in 2022.

 

The positive story may have been to charge customers more to maybe meet increased profit targets for 2024.

[freeworld]

17 minutes ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Nonsense.  Unless the article is referring to just one particularly expensive coffee option on their Thai menu.  Plenty of coffee options for much less than B300+.

That still a huge % of many Thai daily wage.

 

Anyway, the value of money has not really increased but the prices keep going up.

[cdemundo]

3 hours ago, peter zwart said:

And yet another reason not to go to Star$$$$$. I realy dont understand why people want to have a coffee overthere. You can get much better coffee for a much lower price.

Starbucks taught me that I am a very poor retail market analyst.

When Starbucks first came out I was going around saying "Who is gonna pay $4 bucks for a cup of coffee?".

Turns out just about everybody.

Bought a couple coffees at the Starbucks near my job this year; but generally I walk by them and get a can of Nescafe Espresso for 18 baht at TOPS.

[BenStark]

37 minutes ago, bamnutsak said:

AFAIK, ThaiBev is the sole franchiser of Starbucks here through their Coffee Concepts subsidiary (with Maxim's Caterers and F&N Retail)

 

4,000+ employees.

 

465 branches.

 

800,000 customers per week.

 

Year 2021, total income 6,135.81 million baht, profit 164.65 million baht

 

Year 2022, total income 8,389 million baht, profit 833 million baht.

 

 

Seems like a very positive story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

An excellent explanation about how greedy corporate businesses raise their prices, not because the cost has increased, but only to create more and more profits.

 

I'm sure everyone has in the past few days read the headlines about Carrefour pulling Pepsico products from the shelves in their supermarkets, because they did exactly the same.

 

Unjustified price increases, under the excuse of inflation, while at the same time raising profit forecast 3 times in 2023

[BigStar]

3 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

I sometimes would have an Amazon coffee at Sukhumvit MRT and watch people sitting in Starbucks across the way paying twice as much for the same thing. Muppets,

 

Whenever I have a cuppa at Starbucks, what enhances the pleasant experience is the thought that a Brit outside looking on or passing by has soiled his knickers.

[BigStar]

13 minutes ago, BenStark said:

An excellent explanation about how greedy corporate businesses raise their prices, not because the cost has increased, but only to create more and more profits.

 

It explains no such thing, just 'cause you want it to.

[ricklev]

1 hour ago, impulse said:

 

The key word is sitting...  Generally, when I'm in a Starbucks, I'm renting a nice place to sit for awhile, and they throw in a coffee.  Sometimes, I rent a cheaper seat and they just throw in a water.  I could get the water cheaper at 7/11 but they don't have nice seats.

 

Exactly.  Most Starbucks in Thailand have very comfortable seating, excellent AC, great music played at a reasonable volume, clean convenient bathrooms and friendly competent staff.  I am happy to pay for the experience and so are lots of other people.  The coffee is OK, in my opinion, but I am no expert.  

 

I think the Starbucks bashing is really about something other than Starbucks.

 

[retarius]

3 hours ago, stoner said:

idiots will line up to pay it. 

Quite, there is a joke about Starbucks' customers lacking taste buds and being stupid, but I can't remember it. 

[BigStar]

20 minutes ago, cdemundo said:

Starbucks taught me that I am a very poor retail market analyst.

When Starbucks first came out I was going around saying "Who is gonna pay $4 bucks for a cup of coffee?".

Turns out just about everybody.

 

The usual experience among our ANF Economists with any product they can't afford or don't want to pay for. Happened SO many times over the years.

 

[andux]

1 hour ago, EVENKEEL said:

I'm always amazed at how hard working folks spend their money on crap. Especially the wages Thais work for. All my years in US punching a time clock, I brought food and coffee from home, hardly ever, ever did I eat out. So, here in Thailand a guy making 500 baht a day spends 50 baht on lunch, that's 10%, to me that's stupid. The mentality of living life day to day is why so many Thais have nothing when they're old. Much the same as US I want to add.

 

Which is why it boggles my mind when a place like Starbucks is so popular. 

 

 

 

It's the same everywhere, but this behavior is necessary. We need people to work and consume, not to save their money.

[retarius]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

Not much of a fan of either, Amazon or 7-11 Cafe coffee.  TBH, I'd rather just drink the Hazelnut flavored instant for 20 ish baht that's offered at 7-11.

 

Inthanon at Bangchak petrol/CS is wee bit better, but not something I'd actually recommend to a coffee drinker.

Good god man, flavoured coffee. Ugh. Hazelnut, caramel, chocolate or whatever other crap they dump in the stuff is vile. Coffee is supposed to be bitter, not sickly sweet. 

[Mr Meeseeks]

1 hour ago, Celsius said:

I trust starbucks more than Amazon and to compare it is just hilarious.

 

Amazon is owned by Petrochemical giant PTTEP.

 

Starbucks in Thailand is owned by ThaiBev.

[BenStark]

16 minutes ago, BigStar said:

The usual experience among our ANF Economists with any product they can't afford

 

I doubt an ex English teacher like you can afford it either

[OneMoreFarang]

I wonder how many Thais go to that place because they like good coffee and how many go there to walk out with something with a starbucks logo on it.

Like: Look, here, I can afford to go there.

I guess for those kind of people higher prices are better. Look, I can still afford it - at least until my credit card is maxed out. 

 

[BritManToo]

18 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

The usual experience among our ANF Economists with any product they can't afford or don't want to pay for. Happened SO many times over the years.

 

Not about can't afford, more about value for money!

[bkk6060]

Thais go there for wannabee highso photo ops for FB, IG and Tik tok.

It is garbage maybe the worst coffee in Thailand give me a 7-11 coffee over this mess.

[BenStark]

21 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

It explains no such thing, just 'cause you want it to.

 

Why not ask some large supermarket chains about what it explains?

 

They may disagree with the opinion of an ex-English teacher in Thailand

[impulse]

35 minutes ago, BenStark said:

An excellent explanation about how greedy corporate businesses raise their prices, not because the cost has increased, but only to create more and more profits.

 

10% profit on revenue doesn't seem so greedy. 

 

2100 baht ($60) profit per employee doesn't sound so greedy.

 

1.7 million baht ($50K) per location doesn't sound so greedy.

 

Without knowing how much NCE (net capital employed), it's tough to judge how greedy it is.   Looking at a typical Starbucks, I can't even imagine how much they have invested in each store's fixtures (assuming they rent space and that comes in as an expense and not an investment)  

 

If investors can make a better return somewhere else, they'll put their money somewhere else.  And lots of retired guys in Thailand are living off their investments and quite happy to see the stock value rise.

 

If someone has the give-a-poop, I'm curious what their return on investment (ROI) is.  I'm not curious enough to do the info scrounging.  Especially since it's a consolidated company and breaking out Starbucks would be a chore.

 

[ozimoron]

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

That's because Starbucks is run as a gay charity that happens to sell coffee on the side.

 

It's actually not about the coffee is it? It's about their legally required HR policies. Their policiy is to employ migrants and that drives the right wing nuts but they keep mum on the meatworks employing illegals. If you bothered to check Starbucks also has a strong record of employing vets.

 

That said, the new price rise will incentivise me to reduce my coffee consumption. It's getting too expensive. There is a reason it's a mega company though. Their coffee is good. I have 4 free coffees to use up so I'm glad I kept them unused.

[KhunLA]

26 minutes ago, BigStar said:

 

The usual experience among our ANF Economists with any product they can't afford or don't want to pay for. Happened SO many times over the years.

 

Many people can afford anything.  Because we don't buy things because we can, but because we want to.

[BigStar]

10 minutes ago, BenStark said:

Why not ask some large supermarket chains about what it explains?

 

Starbucks isn't a large supermarket chain. Fail.

 

15 minutes ago, BenStark said:

 

I doubt an ex English teacher like you can afford it either

 

But I've never taught English, and of course I go to Starbucks when I'm near one and in the mood. Gf and I both have espressos, usually,

 

Are you going to need some help so that you can stop your lying about me, as a deflection from your ignorance of economics? It's at hand, no problem.