Over the years, a handful of companies have taken Levitt's words to heart, reimagining the very definitions of their businesses and their industries each time they reached a critical turning point. Disney was once a little studio that turned out cartoon shorts. Then Walt Disney opened a theme park unlike anything anyone had ever known. Now his company develops, produces, and distributes films of all kinds; has a network of theme parks; and runs a vast media empire. Virgin's Richard Branson turned a little music magazine into a music superstore, then launched an airline, and, most recently, a cell-phone company. And before her ImClone disgrace, Martha Stewart was among this select few: Her home-catering operation became a series of cookbooks, then gave birth to a multimedia company and a lifestyle-products line that sold everything from hand towels to patio furniture at Kmart.
In each case, as the company reached a plateau in one industry category, a visionary leader looked past the original product or service to redefine, in the broadest terms, the business it was in. Disney, Branson, and Stewart reimagined their cartoon, magazine, and food-service operations as entertainment enterprises. Then, when entertainment itself became too constricting, they blew apart traditional industry characterizations altogether. Now what they really sell is a lifestyle. Disney and its idealized view of wholesome, all-American family life; Virgin and its vision of youth, sexiness, adventure, and exuberance; Martha Stewart and her promise that you, too, can lead the elegant, good life. They sell you the dream, then the full suite of products, services, and experiences to achieve it.
And Schultz would like Starbucks to join them. He aims to achieve what so few are able to do -- to reimagine his company as something bigger, better, and more significant than it has ever been. In fact, forget joining them. Schultz plans to surpass them all. "We have the potential to become the most recognizable and respected brand in the world," he says flatly.
That may be hubris, or it may be an attainable goal. Either way, Schultz must still answer Levitt's question: What business is Starbucks really in? Clearly, it's more than coffee shops. Like those other successful marketers, Schultz is selling his own lifestyle dream, one of affluence and comfort, a forward-looking but not-too-trendy community experience wrapped around a steaming cup of coffee in a cozy living room that exists on every block between home and work.
Email
Digg
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Buzz Up!
LinkedIn
