The core competence of Starbucks has been its ability to effectively leverage their cornerstone product differentiation strategies by offering a premium product mix of high quality beverages and snacks. Starbuck’s brand equity is built on selling the finest quality coffee and related products, and by providing each customer a unique “Starbucks Experience”, which is derived from supreme customer service, clean and well-maintained stores that reflect the culture of the communities in which they operate, thereby building a high degree of customer loyalty with a cult following. Its other core competence is its human resource management's values based approach for building very strong internal and external relationships with suppliers, which drives the successful deployment of its business strategy of organic expansion into international markets, horizontal integration through smart acquisitions and alliances that maintains their long-term strategic objective being the most recognized and respected brands in the world.Besides, one of the first things that Schultz did that gave inspiration to the members of Starbucks, was to not refer to them as employees but as “partners” of Starbucks. Starbucks offers comprehensive benefits packages to eligible partners working at least 20 hours per week, with 64% of eligible partners currently enrolled (Starbucks Newsroom: Facts about Starbucks and our Partners, 2009). The Total Pay package includes benefits, a 401(k) savings plan, stock options, an employee stock purchase plan and partner “perks” designed exclusively for their partners. These benefits are generous to say the least and is one of the reasons Starbucks has been rated one of the most progressive employers in the U.S. In fact, Starbucks has been named eleven times to FORTUNE’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” list (Starbucks Newsroom: Facts about Starbucks and our Partners, 2009).