The result, he conceded, was that some customers found Starbucks coffee shops sterile places that no longer reflected a passion for coffee.

ECONOMIST: Starbucks v McDonald's

T-Mobile, a wireless operator, in over 2, 000 Starbucks coffee shops in America.

ECONOMIST: Internet access

Examples of early movers into the experience economy include Starbucks coffee shops.

ECONOMIST: Idea

Starbucks has coffee shops in almost all big countries, but had found India a tough market to break into.

ECONOMIST: Business this week

As a result, the company was losing business to competing local coffee shops, and eventually to McDonalds and to Starbucks.

FORBES: Coffee over Donuts: How Dunkin Donuts Wins

By mid-2012, Starbucks will test some specialty stores on the West Coast, with the units about the size of its coffee shops.

FORBES: Can Starbucks Do For Juice What It Did For Coffee?