Costa Coffee SWOT Analysis

The table below illustrates Costa Coffee SWOT analysis template

Strengths

1.        High level of international presence – the 2nd largest coffee chain globally with 3,401 stores across 31 countries

2.       Largest coffee chain in the UK with 1,357 high street stores, 1,032 franchise stores and 7,100 Express machines[1]

3.       Reputation for high quality coffee

4.       Wider product range compared to its main competitor Starbucks
Weaknesses

1.       Inefficient marketing strategy

2.       More expensive compared to  Starbucks

3.       Costa competitive advantage hard to sustain (can be imitated by new competitors)

4.       Decline of sales by 1.5% in Q3, 2017 in UK[2]
Opportunities

1.          Pursuing more aggressive international market expansion strategy

2.         Formation of strategic alliances with other business in catering industry

3.         Development of new healthier caffeine products

4.         Benefiting from the competitive advantages of its new parent company – Coca Cola Company
Threats

1.       Increasing prices of raw material i.e. coffee beans

2.       Increasing indirect competition

3.       Coffee being perceived as unhealthy beverage

4.       Disruptions in supply chain

 

How to use Costa Coffee SWOT Analysis template above

Costa Coffee SWOT AnalysisExpand each point above into one or more paragraphs with discussions and analysis. Additional points related to Costa Coffee strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats not listed above can also be included if you think they are relevant points and add value to the work.

You will need to support your arguments with references from reliable sources such as annual report of the company, industry journals and magazines and government publications. Your discussions will need to include statistical data and preferably charts and graphs with references to the sources.

You can also find many examples for the application of SWOT analysis using the case studies of famous global brands here.

[1] Kollewe, J. (2018) “Costa Coffee loses its froth as sales fall” The Guardian, Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/18/costa-coffee-loses-its-froth-as-sales-fall

[2] Olah, N. (2018) “Have we reached peak Costa Coffee?” The Guardian, Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/jan/31/costa-coffee-independent-chains

 

[]