Dear Matt,

My name is Gustavo Dos Santos, I work at HSBC Argentina and I´m currently studying to obtain a Master´s degree in finance at UCEMA. I´ve taken a valuation course this semester and as a part of the syllabus I´ve been assigned to value Starbucks. Matt Milletto referred me to this forum. I wondered if any you guys would be so kind as to share with me some of your insights about the industry. As part of the valuation process I´ve identified five operating cost drivers in the industry. Namely,

1. Green Coffee Price.
2. Dairy Fluid 1 Milk Price.
3. Occupancy Costs (mainly the price of commercial real estate property and rent).
4. Plastics and Paper (lids, cups, etc)
5. Labor wages.

The problem is that I have not been able to break down the cost structure. I do not know how much weight I should put on each of the factors mentioned above. I thought that maybe you could point if this approach is correct and where I could find this information.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide,