Dublin and The Starbucks Effect

I suppose it could be called The Wal-Mart or The Home Depot Effect, too, but an article at Fast Company refers to it as The Starbucks Effect. The story is from Ireland, but almost anyone anywhere can relate to what happens when a popular, but aggressive chain moves into what had previously been a “protected” business ecosystem. Wherever there is a human want or need, there is an opportunity. That’s a timeless marketing fact, and to rapidly expanding businesses, that says, “Carpe Diem.”

As the article points out there is a win/lose to all this. The win is that townspeople and travelers can now get a cup of take-out coffee in Dublin at 6 a.m. In this case, what is lost is one of those little things that helps define a place as unique is slowly homogenized.