Starbucks already has over 12,000 stores worldwide, but it;’s expanding rapidly, adding an average of six new stores every day. Starbucks’ goal is to saurate markets without cannibalizing existing stores through what the company calls market in-fill. In other words, if the lines are too long at the Starbucks store at one end of the block, open another store at the other end of the block.

The ultimate gol is to have 40,000 stores worldwide.

One reason for the rapid expansion is that customers complain about inconvenience: They don’t want to walk very far to get their coffee, and they don’t want to stand in line for very long once they get to the store.

Read more about Starbucks’ expansion here.

Starbucks is opening its sixth store in Lodi, California, and this time across the street from a popular House of Coffees establishment, according to Lodi News. As is often the case, the move has created some angst among locals.

Do you know of any example where Starbucks competes head to head with an independent coffee house of cafe? How does that work out? Which one do you prefer? How do they differ from each other? Let us know your thoughts in our comment section below.

I’ll start off with an indy vs Starbucks example:

One of the Starbucks stores I frequent is directly across form an independent coffee house/cafe, literally less than 50 feet away. Both places seem to be thriving, although the Starbucks stores might well be more profitable since it takes up less space and is less labor intensive. The independent cafe, on the other hand, surely makes more money per order since it sells sandwiches, salads and other lunch items. The independent cafe offers free wireless and a variety of seating options, from classic cafe small tables to comfy booths.

One interesting pricing differential is that the independent cafe charges only a buck for a small coffee, substantially less than what Starbucks and other coffechains charge. Starbucks has the better coffee although the difference isn’t huge.

So that’s my experience. Now let me know about yours!

Starbucks has bought 40 Coffee People stores for $13.5 million from West Coast competitor Diedrich Coffee, which is exiting the tough coffee retail market to focus on its wholsesale and franchising businesses.

The Oregonian reports the reaction of Coffee People’s original founder:

“Starbucks owning Coffee People? I never thought that would happen,” said Jim Roberts, who now operates Jim & Patty’s Coffee on Northeast Fremont Street.

He’s distanced himself from his former baby in recent years, but Roberts said he’s still serving the original Black Tiger recipe — now called Top Thrill Dragster — a step above what they’re selling as the strong brew at his old stores.

Diedrich’s sell-off ends an ambitious but failed expansion effort, as Los Angeles Times reports:

In 1999 the company hired former Taco Bell executive John Martin to run the business. Martin embarked on a buying spree, snapping up such chains as Coffee Plantation, Coffee People and Gloria Jean’s Coffees. Those acquisitions boosted Diedrich’s retail outlets to nearly 400, the majority of which were franchised.

But the company was unable to manage such a large network and has steadily lost money and shrunk. It has 153 Diedrich and Gloria Jean’s franchises now.

Scott Reeevs on Forbes.com writes about RBC Capital Markets’ “outperforming” rating for Starbucks:

“Large international growth opportunities remain, such as China, India, Brazil and Russia,” wrote RBC analyst Larry Miller in a new research report. “We also see same store sales growth within the company’s targeted 3% to 7% annual range.”

The analyst said Starbucks (nasdaq: SBUX - news - people ) could become a $100 billion capitalization company, or about four times its current size, “in time.”

Especially if we’re hit by massive inflation.

All kidding aside, there are a lot pratfalls out there, especially in developing countires like India and China, where foreign companies can easily offend local sensibilities or stir up resistance that’s not easily quelled. Actually, it can happen anywhere.

There’s no business like tort business! Starbucks somewhat less than brilliantly thought aout and hastily abandoned coupon promotion has now become what it was destined to become: A lawsuit! Hurrah for lawsuits! Nothing is really real until it has spawned a lawsuit and this one could become the Top Dog of lawsuits, namely a class-action made-for-TV-lawsuit.

A woman in New York City was apparently so angered by Starbucks decision to drop the coupon promotion that she did the only thing you can do when you’re angered by somebody or something. That’s right: She sued. She’s sued Starbucks for $114 million, according to BBC News (only the best news sources for the drinkers of the best coffee!). The amount is based on how much the promotion would have cost Starbucks had the Seattle-based company not pulled the plug on it (for a moment I thought it was a dollar for each Starbucks outlet). The lawyer is hoping more coupon-snubbed Starbucks customers will join the lawsuit.

Some blogger reactions to the suit have already hit the Interwebs:

The Florida Masochist knows the game:

What is the purpose of this lawsuit except to enrich himself? Would the Starbucks customers share in the windfall? No they’ll get coupons as [the lawyer Peter] Sullivan rakes in millions, that Starbucks customers will then have to pay for via higher prices.

The Boy Davis puts it succinctly:

The world is full of wankers

And, you know, even if they’re holding a cup of coffee in one hand, they still have the other free to do their thing.

I think Greckler speaks for many:

I’m sick and FUCKING tired of this GOD DAMN country’s BITCHING and WHINING! Oh boo fucking hoo you can’t get your morning half-caf decafe skim milk mocha latte enima.

Red Is The New Black says:

we approve of anyone brave enough to go toe-to-toe with a big corporation but even we can’t see the logic in this one.

Sean’s day didn’t start off so hot with *another* speeding ticket, but he was pleased to see the big yellow supervisor training manual waiting for him when he got to his store.

Rusty isn’t happy that even when you order your Starbucks pumpkin spiced latte with soy, the drink still has some ingredients that are “derived from cow milk.”

What is a vegan to do?

Rusty shows us how to make it at home.

I’m sure Starbucks is ready to put this to bed, but Tamara puts together 3 lessons that Starbucks should take from the debacle.

Jennifer has some suggestions as well.

Key take away points?

1.) Never ever EVER launch a viral marketing campaign if you aren’t willing and able to scale to the level required by a successful campaign.

2.) Just slightly behind the importance of tracking your own reputation online is the idea of tracking your competitors.

3.) A great viral campaign doesn’t have to be one that you come up with on your own. Sometimes it simply means stepping in and taking over when someone else does it poorly.

Michael Canfield spells out the basics of the unionizing effort at Starbucks.

He also updates that “workers in a Logan Square store declared their wish to be represented by the IWW just before the Labor Day holiday weekend. ”

Find out more about the Chicago unionizing effort.

DMNews gives us the lowdown on the Starbucks email coupon debacle in Atlanta.

Coffee giant Starbucks pulled an e-mail offering to its employees after distribution got out of hand.

The e-mail called “Try your coffee” offered customers a free Grande beverage between noon and 9 p.m. through Sept. 30. The small print directed customers to print the e-mail and present it to baristas.

It was distributed to a limited group of Starbucks partners and employees in Atlanta on Wednesday, Aug. 23, with instructions to forward to friends and family.

However, the e-mail spread faster than Starbucks predicted, landing in e-mail boxes coast to coast, as well as being sold on auction sites like eBay.

Starbucks said the offer is no longer valid because it was redistributed beyond the original intent and modified beyond its control.

Wonder what the baristas are going to do when customers who don’t keep up on their direct marketing news like they should start showing up on the 30th coupon in hand. Grab a grande iced black tea unsweetened, sit back, and watch the drama unfold.

Caribou Coffee Co. is cashing in on the promotion-gone-bad by honoring those Starbucks coupons at their stores with limits.

Caribou said Friday that it would give free medium Cold Press iced coffee, iced Americano or iced tea to On Sept. 8 to anyone presenting one of the Starbucks iced coffee coupon that has been widely circulated on the Internet.

Caribou, which has 416 locations in 16 states and the District of Columbia, said it will honor the Starbucks coupons from noon until the close of business on Sept. 8.

Need a coupon? Want to see what all of the hub-bub was about?

Caribou Locations