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Peet's Coffee and Tea CEO Patrick O'Dea sits down with Diablo Senior Writer Peter Crooks to talk about business success in an uncertain age
Courtesy of Peet's
This has been a rough year for business—but not at Peet’s Coffee and Tea. The East Bay coffee roaster is doing better than ever. How does Peet’s do it? We asked Patrick O’Dea, an Alamo resident who has been Peet’s CEO since 2002.
Diablo: The recession has been brutal on Starbucks and other luxury food brands. Why is Peet’s doing so well in these tough times?
Patrick O'Dea: A couple of reasons. One thing for certain is our coffee is very distinctive. We’ve gone to extraordinary lengths to preserve it since its founding and even make it better. And we have a very loyal, some may say fanatical, customer following. We’ve also made some very significant investments in the past few years, such as our $30 million gold LEED–certified roasting facility in Alameda and a national direct delivery system. As we move forward, we don’t have to make new investments, so more incremental sales that we capture are more profitable.
D: How much has Peet’s grown in your time there?
P.O: When I came to Peet’s, we had 60 of our own stores, we were available in 130 grocery stores, we had 1,700 employees, and we did $94 million in sales. This year, we’ll have 195 of our own stores, be available in about 9,000 grocery stores, employ about 3,700 people, and do a little over $300 million in sales. As we have grown, we have kept the uncompromising commitment to quality. As we’ve gotten bigger, if anything, we’ve gotten better at it.
D: Has Peet’s culture of quality influenced any changes in your personal life?
P.O: [Laughs] I’ve made an effort to stay physically and mentally fit. I had never competed in any kind of endurance sports competition before I came to Peet’s. Since I joined, I’ve done four triathlons. And I find that I perform much better if I have a cup of Peet’s before I swim from Alcatraz to San Francisco.
>> For a chance to win a tour of Peet's new roasting facility, CLICK HERE.
