National chain stores, especially big box stores, are often called “category killers,” as they stomp out local competition when they come to town. A few years back, a friend of mine said he thought of Starbucks (which now opens six new stores a day!) more as a “category creator” rather than a “category killer.” His reason: more people now valued and purchased pricey coffee drinks because of Starbucks. In other words, Starbucks substantially expanded the market for coffee shops.
In the wake of the recent flurry of blog conversation and traditional media coverage of Bun Penny’s closing, a fellow blogger sent me this link to a Slate article addressing how many mom-and-pop coffee shops actually thrive when Starbucks comes to their corner of the world.
I know this article is not a one-to-one comparison of Bun Penny’s experience. … It’s just a perspective to consider in this current conversation about mom-and-pop coffee shops.
1 Comment
January 2, 2008 at 7:51 pm
I hate to say this, but I think you have a good point about category creators. Remember how we were all supposed to stop going to movies because of Blockbuster? Well I can download and tivo any movie I want now, but I KNOW I go to five times the movies my parents went to at my time of life.
Why? Because watching more movies makes you want to watch more movies. Because you’re in it now. You have your guys that you like and you’re following their next move or you’ve heard the buzz about something coming up.
I loved Bun Penny, and the hobby store, and the children’s book store that used to be in THE MALL and I do feel the loss that they are gone. But even at its most folksy, the mall was always going to be a couple of degrees removed from Main Street, right? I mean, it’s a mall.