P. Kalven

Apple: Like Starbucks and Whole Foods, A Trend That's Past Its Prime

Todd,

I think it is safe to say in the coming economic backwash a wide variety of businesses will experience the same shifts as the consumer; having said that many of the folks who survived the Titanic were in First Class, not steerage.

After your bashing here perhaps I can buy you a coffee at Starbucks and I suspect you will enjoy it more than the one from McDonalds. You tend to forget when people are struggling, they attempt to treat themselves.

More often than not it is the discounters who succumb first.

I have a client who states, "There are three rules in successful business, quality, price and service; pick two."