Howard Schultz
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Want an iPod Touch with those beans?
Posted by Starbucks Insider on 04 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: Apple, Howard Schultz, Memo, Promotions, Starbucks Experience, Technology
From the 3rd to the 17th of February all employees at the two stores that sells the most whole bean coffee during that time. This seems like a pretty big promotion if they will be giving away probably 40 or so $250 iPod Touches. I know I’d be working hard as a barista to try to get a free iPod touch.
So will it be annoying, or will they go about it in some unique ways. Corporate sales anyone?
The promotion comes from a “leaked memo” that Howard sent out to all employees earlier today. The entire memo is after the jump
Have you had a “Clover?”
Posted by Starbucks Insider on 28 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Clover, Howard Schultz, Jim Donald, Menu, Starbucks Experience, Technology
I was at the Upper Queen Anne Starbucks in Seattle yesterday and noticed a new seperate group of machines with special branding around them. I asked what one of the machines that I had never seen before was and I was told it was a “Clover,” a coffee press. That it makes a french press cup of coffee in about 40 seconds rather than 4 minutes.
The person I was there with and myself tried two different flavors (Arabian Mocha Sanani and Aged Sumatra) and were very impressed. They measure out the beans, grind the beans, put it into the machine, which has some cool features while it’s pressing the coffee, and then served up delicious roasted coffee. It was pretty close to a french press, and I could definitely see myself ordering it again.
The whole process definitely took a few minutes though, so I think this is something that Howard is a bigger fan of than Jim Donald would have been. It’s getting back to delicious fresh coffee, but the inefficiency of the whole store would be hurt if these were ordered during a rush. It also cost more than $3 for a grande, which seems steep for roasted coffee, but they have to make up for the time it takes and the new machine somehow.
They’re testing them in the Upper Queen Anne Starbucks as well as the one downtown at 6th and Union in Seattle. Have you had a Clover? What were your thoughts? Would you buy it consistently at the price?
Top 3 execs don’t get bonuses
Posted by Starbucks Insider on 24 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Howard Schultz, Jim Alling, Jim Donald, SBUX
It’s good to see a large company like Starbucks keeping their bonuses in check. Howard, Jim Donald, and Jim Alling didn’t recieve their stock bonuses last year becasue of the poor performance Starbucks had in 2007.
I’m really happy to see something like this with a large publicly traded company. I feel that these execs deserve the huge paycheck they receive, as long as they are delivering to the shareholders. In an age where Robert Nardelli drives Home Depot’s stock into the ground and he’s rewarded with a $210M severance package as well as many other similar examples, it good to see that Starbucks execs compensation is actually tied to their performance.
Fortune interview with Howard
Posted by Starbucks Insider on 19 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Howard Schultz, Menu
Here’s a great interview done by Andy Serwer at Fortune Magazine. He talks with Howard about why he came back, what is going to change, what the biggest points of focus will be over the coming months and years. Some great questions and answers to give a little more insight into what Howard is thinking than a one sided memo.Here’s a few of the tidbits that jumped out to me;
- Howard talks about better rewarding their loyal customers. That 15% of purchases are on a Starbucks card. Does this mean a rewards program of some sort?
- Howard is not a fan of the fact that Starbucks turned its focus to efficiency from experience.
- He won’t take the easy out and blame their recent performance on fears of a recession.
- In regards to food. He says, “Less could be more” meaning that they could be cutting back on their pastries.
- There were 4,000 people at a company meeting for when Howard announced that he was coming back and he received a standing ovation.
Great interview with alot of insight. What do you think Starbucks needs to focus on, cut, change in order to turn things around?Fortune Interview
“Does it matter if Starbucks sucks? Yes….”
Posted by Starbucks Insider on 17 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Howard Schultz, Starbucks Experience
Saw this piece from Head Butler talking about what has gone wrong with Starbucks over the past however many years, and why it is bad for all of us. I may disagree with a few points here and there, but overall, it is a great article. Starbucks, used to be the coffee house that brought everybody together, and now, with its cookie cutter, poor performing stores there is no longer this one location. Can Howard bring back the real “Starbucks Experience” that will have people calling Starbucks the third place again, or is it to late? Head Butler article on January 17 [via The Huffington Post]
SBUX: Worst stock pick for ’08?
Posted by Starbucks Insider on 14 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Howard Schultz, SBUX, Starbucks Experience
Todd Wenning over at Monley Fool has just named SBUX as the worst stock pick for 2008. He lists a few reason, and draws a correlation between Howard and Michael Jordan, and although I disagree, I think he makes some valid points for why the stock won’t rebound in ’08.
“Diminished competative advantages” and “Watered down experience” are his two reasons. They are both valid concerns, and in all honesty, they’re what I think Howard noticed not being taken care of while he was gone that made him step back. Wenning, brings up a great point that I wondered about when I read, “Pour Your Heart Into It” a few years ago;
According to Schultz’s 1997 book Pour Your Heart Into It, franchising was “almost a forbidden word to Starbucks.” “We refused to franchise,” Schultz said, “Although it would have been tempting to share costs with franchisees, I didn’t want to risk losing control of the all-important link to the consumer.”
Ironically enough, just one year later, Starbucks introduced its first “licensed” location at Albertson’s grocery stores. Even though licensed locations in stores such as Target (NYSE: TGT) and Safeway (NYSE: SWY) helped Starbucks expand and kept financial costs down over the past decade, the initiative may end up costing the company brand value in the long run. These locations, after all, are not the typical Starbucks “third place,” but simply “refueling stations” for sluggish shoppers who need a caffeine boost before spending money.
I think that fixing this is priority number one for not only the SBUX stock, but also to create a better astmosphere to work in and make your third place again.
How do you think the stock will go this year? Howard’s back, McDonalds is coming on strong, and the price of milk has increased… what will this all mean?
Cramer screaming in favor of SBUX!
Posted by Starbucks Insider on 13 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Howard Schultz, Mad Money, SBUX
Sounds like Howard and Jim Cramer had a talk about what the plans for Starbucks are over the future, and after talking with Mr. Schultz Jim Cramer became a fan. Glad to hear he is back on SBUX’s side as the stock needs all the help it can get.
Howard Schultz’s open letter on Starbucks.com
Posted by Starbucks Insider on 13 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: Howard Schultz, Memo, PR, Starbucks Experience
If you go to Starbucks.com (as of 1/13/08) you will be welcomed by an open letter by Howard Schultz talking about his passion for Starbucks, his taking over of the CEO position, and how Starbucks will be making the Starbucks Experience a major point ofemphasis. It’s a good PR move and I think that the “Starbucks Experience” is really what Starbucks needs to bring back in order to regain the confidence of their customer base as well as Wall Steet.
Since the memo will probably be removed from the main page shortly I will post the entire message after the jump.