Strengthens: It has established a good reputation, with excellent products and services,  in the global coffee market, It has a certain brand awareness and builds up brand loyalty. All  the individual store follows a fixed style, atmosphere and adhere to provide customers  with the “third space” concept. Employees have consensus corporate mission, and the  firm has good moral values and social responsibility. It also has a comprehensive staff  training system.

Weaknesses: Insufficient innovation. Most of it (about 3/4) cafe stores are still located in  the north American domestic market. Targeted at high level consumer groups–drink prices are relatively high, and unable to fully afford by all level of consumers in the  society. Highly dependence on the competitive advantage obtaining from retail coffee.

Opportunities: It can establish business cooperation with other marginalized product  companies. For example, cooperating with other manufacturer’s brand of food and  beverages. Building up the  brand chain model, to create a new product portfolio and  new services to adapt to the new market. The company has the opportunity to expand  global business. (New markets: such as India and the Pacific Rim countries)

Threats: Starbucks coffee beans, dairy products and other raw materials costs rise.  Starbucks’ success has led many competitors counterfeiting their brands to enter the  market. The company is experiencing blindly global market expansion. A large number  of prepaid cards are released on the market, uncertain market factors may bring to the  company financial crisis.

Taobao “Double-Eleven”(11.11) shopping carnival total transaction amount is up to￥ 35.019 billion(about $5.9 billion). Cyber Monday (about US$1.5 billion in 2012) is far behind.

Taobao is the online shopping website, like ebay an Amazon, which provides a platform for small businesses and individual entrepreneurs to open online retail stores that mainly cater to consumers in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Double eleven, November 11, because of the four consecutive “1”, this day has been designated as “Singles Day” in China. Taobao took this date as a gimmick and carried out a carnival Shopping Festival which means holding very big sales on the website. The sales of last year’s “Double-Eleven” was 19.1 billion, and the number has increased 83% this year. Taobao successfully achieved a remarkable record in China, even in the world, and made customers buying without thinking.

However, while the consumers are exciting about the benefit they get from those big sales, the truth is that the sellers are the one who really benefit. The delivery industry has been challenged as a huge volume of products are sitting in the storages and waiting to be sent out. Consumers have to wait long time for their goods and the qualities of those products are not guaranteed. Last year, some parents brought fake big brands’ inferior diapers in the shopping festival, and made their babies suffered.

In my perspective, the huge success that Taobao achieved is highly contributed by the good advertising and business value preposition. Taobao successfully targeted the consumers and stimulated their desire to buy. The qualities of Taobao products need more regulations to stop from being not ethical.

U.S. Black Friday Versus Chinese Double-Eleven Day：http://technode.com/2012/11/30/u-s-black-friday-versus-chinese-double-eleven-day/