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Brown chronicles the coffee war between Starbucks (premium experience, $6 lattes, 'third place' positioning) and Dunkin (blue-collar speed, $2 coffee, 'America runs on Dunkin'). Both succeeded by targeting completely different customers with the same product.
Canon
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Brown argues the store designs are deliberate environmental engineering: Starbucks designs for lingering (which increases emotional attachment and willingness to pay premium prices), while Dunkin designs for speed (which increases throughput and volume).
Highlights
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Starbucks and Dunkin serve the same product (coffee) to completely different customers with completely different value propositions — proving that positioning matters more than product
Brown argues the real competition isn't about coffee quality — it's about identity. Starbucks sells a 'third place' experience for knowledge workers who want to linger. Dunkin sells speed and value for blue-collar workers who need caffeine and are gone in 3 minutes.