2008年8月14日

曹sir 都係 Copy Cat?

In today's newsletter (John Mauldin):

星 巴克1999年只有二千間咖啡店,到去年已超過一萬間;並以每天開五點五間嘅速度增長。結果令管理層犧牲咗品質而搏命追求量嘅增長,喺好多唔應該開店嘅 地方亦開店,唔應簽嘅貴租約亦簽咗,甚至連麥當勞亦唔請嘅小伙子一樣照請,因擴充太快唔夠人用。過去錯誤嘅決定係造成今天(或將來)唔愉快局面嘅原因。終 於星巴克痛定思痛重新收緊番標準,將唔合規格嘅咖啡店執笠。管理層重新將注意力放番落品質上而唔係數量上,最終結束咗長達三十七年嘅擴張期,努力將經營重 點由提升服務達到從前開業時嘅標準。

Starbucks percentage of new stores growth in 2007 was only slightly lower than it was in 1999. But in 1999 it had 2,000 stores; in 2007 it was pushing a 10,000 company owned stores mark. Let's put this in perspective: in 1999 Starbucks opened 447 stores - 1.8 stores per working day; in 2007 that number more than tripled to 1,403 stores a year - 5.5 stores per working day. At this level of growth physical limitations come in: there is only so much real estate that fits a company's criteria at a certain point in time. Management started sacrificing on the quality of their decisions, compromises were made that were unthinkable several years before. Stores were opened too close to each other or on the wrong side of the street, expensive leases were signed, they even hired baristas that would have fit in better at McDonalds - you get the idea
What happened? It's a simple translation from English to Chinese only!