San Francisco police reported as many as 17 Starbucks were vandalized throughout the city early Tuesday morning.

Starbucks is introducing a new line of iced coffee, tea and tea lemonade drinks called ice shaken refreshments. The new drinks are created by shaking the ingredients poured into a a clear martini shaker. Will Starbucks be successful in building incremental sales with its shaken refreshments? Will the new drinks take sales away from fountain operations in convenience stores and other foodservice outlets?

In a wide-ranging, energetic presentation at the recent IDDBA convention, management guru Tom Peters expressed his ideas on branding in an age of commodities. According to Mr. Peters, consumers have been climbing an “experience ladder” throughout the years and retailers need to create centers of entertainment and excitement, where selection, presentation, and personal service create a wow experience. Do you agree with Tom Peters on the “experience economy”?

Starbucks’ biggest expansion outside the U.S. has been in Japan, which is now home to 466 stores. But on closer examination, the Japanese momentum is showing sure signs of waning. Will Starbucks be the new McDonald’s? Will management find the fuel for a global second wind?

Starbucks announced yesterday that it would purchase the North American operations of Seattle Coffee Co. for $72 million. Is this a good deal for Starbucks? Do you think Starbucks should continue to operate the various store brands or bring everything under the Starbucks banner?

Starbucks sees plenty of room for growth in the US and its overseas sales have not hurt by calls for boycotting American brands overseas, according to Reuters. “We don’t know a market that we’ve ever saturated,” says Chief executive officer, Orin Smith. How big can Starbucks get?

Starbucks has revolutionized the coffee business, but has failed to figure out how to match the success of its food to its beverage offerings. The most recent experiment, however, may signal that Starbucks is getting its bearings. What do you see as the opportunities and risks of Starbucks venturing further into food offerings?

The CSPI says that Starbucks new Coconut Crème and Vanilla Crème Frappuccinos are downright obscene (health-wise). The nonprofit organization named the two items to its list of Food Porn of the Month winners. Should menus and/or menu boards be required to supply nutritional information?

Although it has often been cast as the villain in a big brute versus small guy scenario, it turns out that Starbucks is often good for business – other coffee houses’ business, that is. Will Starbucks continue to grow the coffee category leaving plenty of business for it and its competition or will it eventually begin to wear the independent shops and small chains down?

The Organic Consumers Association (OCA) has announced that it will distribute leaflets and protest at a Starbucks intending to “call attention to Starbucks’ use of GE ingredients in their food and beverages, as well as Starbucks’ refusal to brew Fair Trade, shade-grown coffee as its ‘coffee of the day’ once a week.” Would agreeing to the OCA’s demands provide any great benefit to Starbucks?

The numbers argue that Starbucks’ growth rate might be slow to slow. In San Francisco, there are now more of its outlets than publicly traded Internet companies. How much Starbucks is too much?

Counterfeit Starbucks coupons were circulated illegally by e-mail earlier this week by an unidentified source offering a free 12-ounce Creme Frappuccino. How can retailers and food service operators protect themselves against hoax’s such as that perpetrated upon Starbuck’s?

Following last weekend’s grand opening and a successful test run since June 8, Starbucks is already turning a profit and has attracted a loyal following in the blue-collar city of San Fernando, Calif. Are retailers and CPG companies letting demographic assumptions get in the way of business growth?

One can order a caffeine fix even faster at a dozen Starbucks in the Seattle area. Starbucks Express allows a patron to order and pay by cell-phone for a 25-cent service charge. Is the consumer need for convenience strong enough to make suggest that programs such as Starbucks Express will become widespread? Does this type of program have practical applications beyond foodservice?

Starbucks Coffee Co. is further advancing the Starbucks coffee clutch culture with its latest product launch, a new board game, “Hear Me Out!” What lessons can other retailers learn from the Starbucks branding experience?

International connoisseurs say that Panama’s specialty coffee is some of the finest in the world. Can retailers increase sales from the shelf by promoting coffee grown in different regions from around the world?

Starbucks prepaid card’s runaway success has surprised many analysts who expected the so-called “cash card” to be unattractive in a consumer market dominated by direct debit and credit cards. Do cash cards have broader applications and a larger market than commonly assumed?

Starbucks plans on extensive international expansion, and to expand wireless service provided by VoiceStream to 70 percent of its cafés during the next several years. Does Starbucks risk overexposing its brand by being so ubiquitous?