Reference no: EM132440654

Problem: Grounds Keeper is a 16 year old company, founded in 1997 in Portland, Oregon by Tom Hennessey and Jack Vercille. The company purchases processed coffee beans from a number of suppliers around the world, roasts these seeds in their roasting facility located in Portland, and then packages the coffee in various states for resale to customers and select wholesalers and retailers. As of 2010, the company offered whole roasted beans, ground coffee, and K-Cup coffee servers. Most the beans purchased by Grounds Keeper come from Brazil; however, the company has also purchased unroasted beans from Vietnam and Indonesia in the past. In addition to the roasting facility in Portland, additional packaging facilities are located in Seattle, Washington, and Eugenia, Oregon.

Required:

Question 1: Identify a microeconomic variable that would affect Grounds Keeper and explain how it would influence their success.

Question 2: Identify a macroeconomic variable that would affect Grounds Keeper and explain how it would influence their success.