The brand conveys a promise to consumers, and that promise holds significant value in the marketplace. The brand is a lifestyle promise that goes beyond coffee, something that each and every store must deliver, making operations an essential element of the brand promise (Leifer 2015)
This is the model that the company used to enter Japan, and it enjoyed success. More recently, Starbucks partnered with the Tata conglomerate to enter the Indian market (Malviya, 2016), capitalizing on that company's operational expertise in that country to ensure that there were no intercultural issues
This is part of the strategy formulation, but so too is the idea that whatever ownership structure or management structure a store has, the company should have means by which consistency in the store experience can be achieved. Starbucks has always taken the view the Starbucks experience is a critical component of the brand, and that the brand has significant value to offer the consumer (Michelli 2009)
These programs allow for employees at all levels, and franchisees, to fully understand the Starbucks Experience, and how to create that experience in their stores. One of the key focal points of training for customer-facing staff is that the company sells an experience, not just a product, and as such staff must adhere to particular standards of customer service (West, no date)