Running head: GMCR
GMCR: Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Analysis and Audit Plan
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University of Some State
Abstract
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters has become a force to reckon with in the specialty coffee industry, with incredible growth in the last ten years, due in large part to its commitment to customers, employees, and social responsibility. This paper will concentrate on the financial records reviewed and will analyze (a) GMCR’s annual report and 10-K; (b) industry information, including key economic factors, life cycle, evaluation of factors for success, key business risks, accounting considerations, legal and regulatory concerns, and social concerns; (c) the company’s financial
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(Form 10-K, 2009).
Industry Information Key economic factors Coffee consumption in the US and Europe equals approximately one-third of the tap water consumed annually, with annual production of approximately seven million tons estimated in 2010 (http://www.coffeefacts.com). Worldwide, nearly 25 million small producers derive their income from coffee; the economies of Africa, Indonesia, and South and Central America are especially dependent on coffee production. The majority of this production takes place in Brazil, where approximately five million people are involved in the cultivation and harvest of over 5 billion coffee plants without the aid of modern machinery. (Rice, 2003, p. 228). By 2003, the number of retail specialty coffee shops, cafes, kiosks, coffee carts, and roasters in the United States reached over 17,000, equating to nearly $9 billion in sales. According to the Specialty Coffee Association of America, 16 percent of adults in the United States drink coffee from one of these specialty outlets daily. (“Organo Gold”, 2008). The price of coffee is impacted by several factors. Meteorological events can affect the quality of a harvest or even wipe out entire plantations. The political and economic stability of the coffee-growing regions can have a profound effect on availability, and subsequently price per pound. Coffee is traded on the commodities exchanges
GMCR’s warns of the potential impact of the price of coffee on the gross profit margin. To combat this, GMCR had made a number of purchase commitments to ensure an adequate supply of coffee (GMCR Annual Report, 2010). The market price for coffee is impacted by numerous factors including weather, economy, and competition. It is vital that GMCR continue to take proactive measures to secure against unforeseen spikes in coffee prices. The price of coffee does not only impact GMCR’s ability produce coffee for the Keurig brewer under its namesake but impacts their partner suppliers as well. GMCR purchases coffee from brokers, farms, estates, and cooperative groups and essentially diversifies its coffee supply, reducing some supply risk (GMCR Annual Report, 2010).
With time the small industry of coffee has modernized into a multibillion dollar industry that surrounds the world. With the growth of the industry there has been many world wide changes. Over the past 30 years coffee shops have jumped to the front of the public culture. New coffee shops have changes the face of American cities along with British, German, Colombian, Kenyan and Indonesia towns to name few. (Coffee a comprehensive guide to the bean, the beverage, and the industry) Around the world coffee has become part of the daily culture and coffee shops have grown to accommodate the massive demand that people ask for. Without the growth of the industry there would be a shortage of the product and many would have to go without their beloved beverage. In the United States alone there has been a massive increase in the number of coffee shops. In 1980 the number of coffee shops was a year 2,000 and by 2008 there was an astonishing 27,715. (Coffee a comprehensive guide to the bean, the beverage, and the industry) This was an increase of over ten times in the short time. 11,000 of those stores, almost half, were Starbucks one of the biggest coffee brands in the worlds. The growth of Starbucks is due to the work of Howard Schultz a worker for the company before they became as massive as they are today. Starbucks started very small in Seattle, Washington in the mid 1970’s. Howard bought out the owners and then went on to turn the small company into a massive corporation. (Coffee a
Coffee is globally traded commodity. It is the second-most traded commodity with oil being the first. Coffee is generally traded in financial instruments known as futures contracts, and this is mainly done through the New York Board of Trade. In recent years, countries producing coffee has been increasing. Established producers like Colombia have faced bigger competition from these countries seeking to enter the market. Because of increasing number in countries it makes it harder for coffee producers to influence prices. Over the last few centuries, coffee has grown into one of the world’s most popular drink. There has been strong growth for coffee as it has become a fashionable drink. Coffee has replaced alcohol as a drink of choice for workers
Coffee is not just a drink. It’s a global commodity. Multinational coffee companies now dominate the industry worth over $80 billion, making coffee the most valuable trading commodity in the world after oil. While we continue to pay for our lattes and cappuccinos, the price paid to coffee farmers remains so low that many have been forced to abandon their coffee fields. This conundrum is most evident in no place other than Ethiopia, the birthplace of coffee.
Over time, the tradition of taking the highly lucrative cash crop of coffee has become universal to the extent that its production is marred with interference from political, social, economic, and scientific concepts that affect its production. In Central America, the major countries that produce coffee include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and Nicaragua. In these countries, coffee is among the largest traded commodities. Normally, this production takes place through small-scale farmers who are largely dependent on larger corporations to bridge the gap between them and the consumers. Coffee production in Central America is affected by social, economic, globalization and political factors that
The first opportunity is that over 50% of eighteen year olds and older drink 3 or more cups of coffee per day in the United States. This group of coffee drinkers consists predominately of college students and career professionals who adding the morning cup of joe to their study time or work schedule. Currently in the coffee industry, competition is minimal for Starbucks, which has allowed Starbucks to capitalize on one of the biggest industries in the world behind crude oil. This
When a small sign was hung on a little cafe in Waitsfield, Vermont in 1981, nobody would have imagined that Green Mountain Coffee Roasters [GMCR] would become one of the world's leading specialty coffee makers. Through hard work, "Demand quickly grew beyond the walls of the café," and many other local companies requested GMCR coffee to offer their customers (GMCR, Company Overview, 2009, p. 1). Today, GMCR "is recognized as a leader in the specialty coffee industry for its award-winning coffees, innovative brewing technology and socially
The purpose of this synopsis is to analyze the forces and trends that Green Mountain Coffee Rosters faces relevant to its competitive position. The synopsis will explore external forces such as economic, social, legal and regulatory. The paper will also weigh internal forces such as resources, goals, and intellectual property, as it relates to Green Mountain Coffee Rosters. I will describe how the company adapts to changes; identify the major issues and opportunities that this company faces with in this synopsis.
Today, coffee has become the most popular beverage consumed in North America. Many coffee shops have been built, such as Starbucks, Panthers coffee, which are inflating the economy. Coffee is so much
Finally, global economic issues have an immense influence on the world of coffee. Throughout history there has been a pattern that coffee producing countries are economically worse off than those that are consuming the coffee. Pendergrast mentions that “in 1950 the average income in consuming countries was three times that of coffee-growing nations. By the late 1960s it was five times great” (270). With that said, many producing coffee countries were facing endemics and malnourished peoples because workers were receiving absurdly low wages thus placing them into poverty and human suffering (271). Specifically, although 90 percent of El Salvador’s exports consisted of coffee in the 1930s, they agonized from “‘low wages, incredible filth…[under] conditions in fact not far removed from slavery’” (168). Global economic issues of these producing countries lead to dictators easily gaining power such as those in Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Honduras (170). Not only was politics a matter that resulted from global economic issues, “the high interest rates from financial institutions and price [squeezes]” lead to the economic struggle of farmers like those from Colombia due to
Coffee is cultivated in more than eighty countries in Central and South America, Africa and Asia and it cultivates the lives of around 20-25 million farming families. Smallholder coffee farms, combined with their families and rural workers produce over seventy percent of this labor. Most rural women around the work are farmers. This is how they put food on the table for their families and it is estimated that women produce between 60 and 80 percent of the food in most developing countries and are responsible for about half of the world’s food production. In the world of coffee, women carry out more than 70 percent of the work that is put into coffee production. Around 20 percent
People love to drink coffee. Coffee shops, independently owned or chains are every corner. Statistics show that people are taking more coffee every day. It is a very profitable business.
Statistics show that over half of the American population consumes coffee on a daily basis. You may drink coffee hot, cold, mixed, or even in a frappuccino. Individuals are able to make coffee at home, or buy it on the go. Coffee provides people with caffeine, which ultimately gives energy for hardworking people all around the world. The main focus for this paper will cover the following topics, with coffee as the basis: causes for shifts in supply and demand, how coffee supply and demand influence price, quantity,
The demand for coffee shops is born from the increased number of individuals seeking coffee brewed outside of the home. This creates a larger market for coffee shops. An increased amount of people are starting their mornings off by purchasing breakfast and a cup of coffee away from home (Tuttle 2014), more people are enjoying gourmet coffee (NCA National Coffee Drinking Trends 2015 Infographic), and younger generations are demanding more coffee and coffee drinks from coffee shops (Tuttle 2014, S&D Coffee and Tea inc. 2014, Statista 2015). Coffee shops must compete with at home coffee, work place coffee, and teas for the caffeinated beverage markets (LN 2015). Demand for coffee within different markets varies, and provides competition for coffee shops. Single cup coffee makers, increasingly qualitative instant coffees, and gourmet beans are all sources of competition that could satisfy the demand for coffee. However, coffee shops are becoming more ingrained in social
The film highlights the fact that coffee is the most valued word commodity, second to oil. The beginning of the film shows the process in which coffee is made- from bean harvesting by workers in Ethiopia who make next to nothing, through several intermediated stages, and into the market. Although we spend countless amounts of money on coffee without thinking twice, the price that coffee farmers who produce this commodity are getting paid, is disgustingly low. Some of them have even been forced to walk away from their fields. There is no better place to see this