Anomalies II

the Italian expresso experience could be re-created in American and the public would embrace it.

For Schultz, the experience in Milan was an anomaly.  In Seattle, the market of dark-roasted arabica beans was a niche, populated by a small but growing group of especially discerning buyers.  But the vast majority f people in Seattle, and in America--even the feel-to-do-drank cheap, bland coffee.

In Milan, expensive high-quality coffee was not a niche product but the mass-market product.  and there was a further anomaly: in the United States, fast food meant cheap food and plastic surroundings. In Milan he saw "fast coffee" that was expensive and served in a lively social atmosphere, so different form that of an American Main Street diner or coffee shop.

Schultz formed a strategic hypothesis--the Italian expresso experience could be re-created in American and the public would embrace it.

ACTION POINT: Are there anomalies in your business or markets that can lead to opportunities?