nancy's coffee case study
127-C04-A-U
Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship
Babson Park, MA
Phone: 781-239-4420
02457-0310
Fax: 781-239-4178
URL: http://www.babson.edu/eship
REV 3/21/06
Nancy’s Coffee
As the busy president of the $7 million Nancy‟s Coffee Café chain, Beth WoodLeidt wasn‟t able to visit each of their thirty suburban coffee shops as much as she would have liked. Whenever she did journey out like she was doing today, it was with a passion for building brand and enhancing profitability.
Beth approached one of her more challenging locations—in a mall in central New York— and surveyed the space with a practiced eye.
…that front table needs a wipe… the display shelves are dusty…the
OneCard holder is hidden behind the tip jar…isn’t it too early in the day to be out of plain bagels?…
She greeted the staff that she knew warmly, introduced herself to new faces, and ordered a cappuccino from a slightly nervous young hire at the counter. As the teenager set about to whip up the best coffee drink of her brief career, Beth took the manager aside to offer a quick rundown on areas for improvement.
Beth was just finishing up with her quality assessment when her cell phone buzzed with a call from a former corporate colleague that she had often confided in about the challenges of running a retail business. Beth took a sip of her frothy brew, winked her approval to the relieved girl who had brewed it, and headed out into the mall to chat. When her friend noted that Beth sounded tired, the forty-year-old CEO closed her eyes and nodded into the phone:
Gosh, I am tired! Remember about a year ago I started saying that I wanted to figure out where this business was going? Well, I’m still asking the same questions like, how can we attract the capital we would need to grow faster; what is the best exit strategy to shoot for; and what is the best way to enhance the value of what we are building?
Sure, we’ll add another two more stores this year, but that’s just not doing it for me. It’s early
Arthur M. Blank Center for Entrepreneurship
Babson Park, MA
Phone: 781-239-4420
02457-0310
Fax: 781-239-4178
URL: http://www.babson.edu/eship
REV 3/21/06
Nancy’s Coffee
As the busy president of the $7 million Nancy‟s Coffee Café chain, Beth WoodLeidt wasn‟t able to visit each of their thirty suburban coffee shops as much as she would have liked. Whenever she did journey out like she was doing today, it was with a passion for building brand and enhancing profitability.
Beth approached one of her more challenging locations—in a mall in central New York— and surveyed the space with a practiced eye.
…that front table needs a wipe… the display shelves are dusty…the
OneCard holder is hidden behind the tip jar…isn’t it too early in the day to be out of plain bagels?…
She greeted the staff that she knew warmly, introduced herself to new faces, and ordered a cappuccino from a slightly nervous young hire at the counter. As the teenager set about to whip up the best coffee drink of her brief career, Beth took the manager aside to offer a quick rundown on areas for improvement.
Beth was just finishing up with her quality assessment when her cell phone buzzed with a call from a former corporate colleague that she had often confided in about the challenges of running a retail business. Beth took a sip of her frothy brew, winked her approval to the relieved girl who had brewed it, and headed out into the mall to chat. When her friend noted that Beth sounded tired, the forty-year-old CEO closed her eyes and nodded into the phone:
Gosh, I am tired! Remember about a year ago I started saying that I wanted to figure out where this business was going? Well, I’m still asking the same questions like, how can we attract the capital we would need to grow faster; what is the best exit strategy to shoot for; and what is the best way to enhance the value of what we are building?
Sure, we’ll add another two more stores this year, but that’s just not doing it for me. It’s early