Intelligentsia is all over the place. In addition to their retail presence in LA and Chicago, they run barista training labs in their NYC and Atlanta sales offices. In NYC, you can readily find their coffee in grocery stores and coffee shops. Their 2009 acquisition, Ecco Caffe, co-branded their beans with a popular eight location chain in Manhattan, and now is being absorbed into the main brand. Everything I see points to them having a solid but cautious national strategy.
If I were SBUX I would be drooling over the prospect of buying Intelligentsia, even if just to leverage their reputation for award winning baristas or gain intelligence on their wholesale customers. I'm just not sure that Intelligentsia is particularly inclined to sell at a reasonable price.
If SBUX just wanted to acquire a quality craft roaster, there are a myriad of options to choose from-- Ritual, to be sure, or any of a number of worthy candidates we've probably barely heard of.
If I were SBUX I would be drooling over the prospect of buying Intelligentsia, even if just to leverage their reputation for award winning baristas or gain intelligence on their wholesale customers. I'm just not sure that Intelligentsia is particularly inclined to sell at a reasonable price.
If SBUX just wanted to acquire a quality craft roaster, there are a myriad of options to choose from-- Ritual, to be sure, or any of a number of worthy candidates we've probably barely heard of.