Kraft asks judge to stop Starbucks from ending their partnership

The fight between the two corporate giants is getting ugly. Starbucks offered Kraft $750 million to terminate their partnership, but Kraft declined. It says Starbucks is "proceeding with flagrant indifference to the terms of the contract." || Read "Starbucks and Kraft escalate battle over marketing pact"

Comments

[spence]

The above listed article is very interesting. Thanks for sharing it.

[AgedSumatra]

I couldn't read past this: "...the venti latte of corporate divorces — with a double shot of espresso and extra foam."

A venti already gets two shots of espresso. As dramatic as the article sounds, the barista in me is screaming "this guy is an awful customer and he must be punished!"

[letmeruncorporate]

why dont they spend the 750 million and invest it into labor in our stores. morons.

[ILVSBUX]

Amen I say letmeruncorporate!!! Totally agree.

[Coffee Soldier]

Does anyone know what sort of ramifications this could have on Starbucks if Kraft wins? I just saw in the news today that Kraft is sueing for 500 million.

[Jazzhands]

Is that in addition to the 750 million that Starbucks first offered them? Otherwise, that seems a little counterproductive.

[Aaron]

Coffee Soldier, I think Starbucks has a lot more riding on this than Kraft, so to answer your question briefly: it could be very very bad for Starbucks.

Starbucks seems like a pretty big corporations, given the ubiquity of its stores, and the even greater ubiquity of cracks about how you there are stores right across the street from each other. It is a very highly visible company and brand. But compared to some of the true giants of the food business like Kraft, Pepsi (with whom they also do business), it's relatively small. If this turns out badly for Kraft, it could be somewhat unpleasant. If this goes badly for Starbucks, it could really cause a sizeable difference in its current and future worth. I'm sure both companies ultimately want to avoid costly litigation, but Kraft has the upper hand and can probably drag it out if they feel they'll get a better deal in the end. Starbucks probably wants it over as quickly as possible while paying out as little as they can get away with.