Know yourself!

• Betting on Starbucks' lofty prices

  My Fortune colleague Geoff Colvin writes in our March 2 issue that a few companies--DuPont (DD) and Colgate-Palmolive (CL) and McDonald's (MCD), to name three--are working overtime to preserve their brand equity in this downturn. Instead of discounting, they are, in some cases, actually raising prices.

  Another company loathe to cut prices: Starbucks (SBUX). As I've noted on Postcards, CEO Howard Schultz told me last year that the smartest decision he MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Mar 3, 2009 2:31 PM ET
  Posted in: Bono, Brands, coffee, colgate-Palmolive, consumer goods, Costco, DuPont, Howard Schultz, Leadership by Geoff Colvin, management, McDonald's, Postcards, restaurants, retail, SBUX, Starbucks

• Taste-testing Starbucks instant

  By Beth Kowitt

  The company that brought premium java into the mainstream is now selling instant coffee. Is this the latest sign of the apocalypse?

  At an event in New York today, Starbucks (SBUX) introduced the result of its biggest research investment to date: Starbucks Via Ready Brew, available in individual servings (a three-pack sells for $2.95; a 12-pack for $9.95).

  Before you start accusing the iconic retailer of desperate measures, give Via MORE

  Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Feb 17, 2009 6:09 PM ET
  Posted in: Brands, CEOs, coffee, consumer goods, Howard Schultz, Postcards, restaurants, retail, SBUX, Starbucks

• Guest Post: Lululemon CEO Christine Day on making a comeback

  It's not about falling down. It's about getting back up. You learn that you can get back up and fail, and it's not fatal. That you can move on and even become stronger from that moment. It's about learning to take those risks. And it frees you up, so you're not afraid to fail.

  I learned this when I didn't get a promotion that I was up for at Starbucks (SBUX). MORE

  Jessica Shambora, Writer-Reporter - Nov 6, 2008 2:24 PM ET
  Posted in: Bob Meers, CEO, CEOs, Christine Day, consumer goods, FORTUNE MPWomen, Guest Post, Leadership by Geoff Colvin, LULU, lululemon athletica, Personal Power, Postcards, retail, SBUX, Starbucks

• Power point: Protect your brand equity

  "How do you navigate through this? The key is to not make the short-term decision that would subordinate the equity of the brand."

  - Starbucks (SBUX) CEO Howard Schultz yesterday, when I chatted with him in New Orleans. Here with 11,000 Starbucks managers--or "partners" as he calls his employees--he was preaching the dangers of discounting and the value of social responsibility, especially when employees as well as consumers are feeling down MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Oct 30, 2008 4:29 PM ET
  Posted in: Bono, CEOs, Howard Schultz, Leadership by Geoff Colvin, philanthropy, Postcards, Power Point, Project RED, SBUX, Starbucks

• Rationality pays in retail

  I've talked on Postcards about the greatest sins of the big retailers: believing that if you build it, they will come. That focus on growth at all costs has hurt Starbucks (SBUX) and Home Depot (HD), whose stocks have just recently risen risen off of 52-week lows. Speaking of lows, there is Lowe's (LOW), which announced earnings Monday morning: down 8% in the second quarter. But thanks to solid expense MORE

  Patricia Sellers - Aug 18, 2008 1:23 PM ET
  Posted in: Bennigan's, CEOs, Chapter 11, consumer goods, Corporate Express, Credit Suisse, CXP, earnings, Gary Balter, HD, Home Depot, Houston, LOW, Lowe's, management, ODP, Office Depot, Office Max, OMX, Postcards, Power Shift, retail, Ron Sargent, SBUX, SPLS, Staples, Starbucks, Wall Street