Four Reasons Why People Love To Hate Starbucks

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For all of Starbucks' fervent loyalists, there are equally passionate haters of the ubiquitous coffee chain.

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That's why the fake "Dumb Starbucks" store that popped up in Los Angeles last week became an instant global sensation.

The brand's polarizing effect on people is partly what's responsible for its massive success, reporter Bruce Horovitz writes in USA Today.

Horovitz gives these four reasons for why Starbucks is so easy to hate.

1. Starbucks coffee is overpriced. "There are millions who cringe at its sheer audacity to charge up to 5 bucks for a cup of fancy coffee - where folks wait in long lines for it," Horovitz writes.

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2. Starbucks is too successful. The stock is up 35% over last year and the company made $14.9 billion in revenue in 2013, up from $13.3 billion the previous year.

"Starbucks has a problem that every other brand only wishes it shared: It's too damn good," Horovitz writes.

3. Starbucks is everywhere. The company's haters tire of seeing its green logo at every turn. Starbucks now has more than 20,000 locations in 62 countries, and roughly half of Americans live within 5 miles of the coffee shop, according to a 2012 study.

4. People are envious of Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz's success. "I've got this theory. It's called the why-didn't-I-think-of-that-first? theory," Horovitz writes. "There are millions of Americans who hate Starbucks - and its founder, Howard Schultz - mainly because he took a great idea and ran with it, not just down the field, but across the planet."