In 2009, the company began rebranding and renaming certain coffee shops in an effort to appear more "local" and less like the gargantuan multinational chain that they are. Though they don't exactly hide that they are more or less just another Starbucks once you're inside, these "Street Level Coffee and Tea" locations have names like "15th Ave Coffee & Tea" or "Roy Street Coffee & Tea," feature unique and atmospheric interior design, and do neat stuff like host local events and offer some different food and drink items (including booze!). There's a great New York Times article about it here.
(image from AFP-Getty, via the New York Times)
Some might wonder why a giant, successful company like that would deliberately upend standard operating procedures, give their own brand identity a backseat, or generally do something that they don't really have to do. The answer, of course, is that someone there thinks it will quiet a few anti-corporate opponents, win them a few brownie points, and, of course, make them more money (my study, and, for instance, the profit margins at Davis' first Target store, suggest that someone is right). Indeed, Starbucks makes no secret of it's "Street Level Coffee and Tea" innovation, proudly announcing it at the time and continuing to make the affiliation clear on the 'independent' shops website.
Well, today, Starbucks announced yet another interesting move that seems aimed quite simply at assuaging local concerns about the neighborliness of this anything-but-local corporation. But this time it's on a grand scale: the company has just offered to pay more taxes than they are required to in Britain. Apparently, "having listened to customers and the British public," (that's the Times again, quoting a Starbucks press release), they are going to "refrain from claiming certain tax deductions" and "pay taxes over the next two years even if it does not post a profit" (that's just the Times). Now to be fair, this comes after informal allegations of tax dodging in the country. But the point is that they are once again eagerly trumpeting their willingness to make unrequested, costly moves that seem to acknowledge remarkably transparently that they know they're a big multinational behemoth who people don't like, but really still want you to like them.
It's an interesting tactic. It doesn't make me any less wary of their predatory real-estate practices and other inevitable complaints (or any more likely to drink their coffee), but I suppose it's a good thing. It's also, more cynically, the face of a smiley and totally unshakeable capitalism, quietly adapting and easing tension as it keeps bringing in the bucks.
