07/19/2008 10:10:32 AM 
It became clear that the brand is increasingly looking to Japan as a source of inspiration for the future direction of the Starbucks brand.
Tokyo's coffee houses and cafes are at the forefront of using recycled and natural materials for their interiors and being highly creative in the overall experience.
One example is the Otemachi Cafe which Metropolis Magazine reviewed a few years back.
"The café is almost entirely constructed from recycled materials. Wood and marble from the old Shin-Marunouchi Building were used to build the bar, old whisky barrels and scrap wood were transformed into chairs, and mobile-phones and plastic bags melted down to make the table tops. The space is eclectic, but never jumbled, and pervaded by an indoor garden..."
I think it's safe to predict that we will see Starbucks experiment with its store designed in the next year or so, perhaps rolling out some radical new pilot designs.
The brand is going to need to evolve to stay fresh and given that according to Jean-Marie Shields, the number 1 customer request on My Starbucks Idea, is for "Conversations", it would be good to have environment that's more conducive to that.
Posted by Ed Cotton
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