When all creativity is gone, when any new idea for value creation is lost, the answer appears - discount. News that Starbucks is launching its first value meal is the final nail in the Starbucks coffin. It is time for Howard Schultz to step down. For the group from Seattle that made "triple shot, grande, skim latte" sound normal to admit defeat. As a longtime fan of Starbucks, I am (unfortunately) not shocked by the announcement. Starbucks has been falling down the discount trail for some time.
