Speaker 1: Okay, great. So, in this lesson, our goal would be to apply the SWOT framework in practice. Shouldn't be that difficult, right? The company we'll examine is Starbucks, the well-known US coffee company and coffeehouse chain. It was founded in Seattle in 1971 and operates in several countries around the world. Let's start with the company's strengths. First, almost everyone knows its brand, right? So it definitely has a strong brand recognition. Starbucks has been proclaimed the most recognized coffee brand in the world, quite an advantage regarding other companies in the industry. The firm's brand is one offering of a differentiated product to customers, which is coherent with its strategy and pricing. Clients have expressed they love the atmosphere in Starbucks coffeehouses. They can use free Wi-Fi and enjoy the coffee-drinking experience to the fullest. The company owns thousands of outlets around the world, and its clients can find it even when traveling overseas. That's a strong advantage as it ensures loyal clients can remain such even overseas. And finally, Starbucks' supply chain management ensures the quality of coffee served to customers is excellent. The company chooses its suppliers carefully, which improves the quality of its products and ensures clients receive a super coffee experience. This is another choice in sync with its differentiation strategy. Ok, very good. Let's take off our rosy glasses and consider some of the firm's weaknesses. One could argue Starbucks offers the same product in all countries where it operates. It does not customize it according to the different tastes of people in different geographies. For some customers, this is an issue, and they prefer competitor products tailored to their specific geographical preferences. In addition, Starbucks has a premium price policy, which is not in line with most customers' expectations. Not all countries have enough middle and high-income class individuals who can afford to pay extra for their coffee. Weakness number three would be the high employee turnover that the chain's coffee shops have. It is difficult to serve coffee as a premium product when the company's baristas have been on the job for only a couple of weeks. In terms of opportunities, we can say the following. Starbucks can access new countries easily. It simply has to apply its existing business model in these new geographies. Emerging markets can be a great source of growth for the company. Starbucks has also entered agreements within the entertainment industry and partnered with movie-producing companies. That can be a great opportunity for the firm too. One of the biggest threats for Starbucks is the saturation of the American market, which is where most of its outlets are located. Consumers are increasingly invested in healthier lifestyle, and some substitute products are better positioned to capture the attention of the health-conscious clientele. Okay, we'll stop here. This is what a SWOT analysis looks like in practice. The depth of the observations included in the analysis depends on the information we have about the company. I'm sure an industry practitioner would be capable to prepare a much deeper analysis. However, the important point is you now know how to perform a SWOT analysis on your own, and you can distinguish the important questions from the rest when it comes to analyzing a company. SWOT analysis is a great tool that allows us to visualize and concentrate on some of the most important topics when analyzing a company. This will do for now. Thanks for watching.