Coffee competition warming up

The allure of the value meal has long seduced penny pinchers craving a cheeseburger. Now, as the dismal economy slurps up profits, Starbucks is hoping to find some sales salvation in its own value meal variety.
The tug of war for coffee drinkers has gotten hotter in recent months, with McDonald’s offering new, lower-priced specialty coffee drinks and Dunkin’ Donuts advertising value-minded deals.
Starbucks has yet to offer many details about what chief executive Howard Schultz described to investors last week as “several breakfast pairings” at “attractive” prices. More details are expected as early as later this week.
But analysts wonder if the plan will be enough to keep value-seeking customers from abandoning the mermaid for the clown.
Starbucks is looking to rebound from dismal sales in the U.S. as more consumers cut back on spending in the deepening recession. In its fiscal first quarter report last week, same-store sales — a key indicator of a retailer’s performance — dropped 10 percent. That’s worse than the 8 percent decline in the fiscal fourth quarter.
Restaurants have been increasingly trying to break into the specialty coffee market, which has grown substantially since 1995, when only 2.7 percent of adults drank a specialty coffee drink every day, according to the Specialty Coffee Association of America. In 2008, that percentage stood at 17 percent.

1. Is it wise for Starbucks to try to enter the "fastfood" fields with McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts?
2. Do you think they will be successful?
3. What are some ways that Starbucks can compete or gain customers without entering a battle with Fast Food companies?