Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz shared his thoughts on the recent not-so-good quarterly report from the coffee giant. He thinks Starbucks can bounce back if it makes its U.S. stores better.
Even though Schultz isn’t officially working for Starbucks anymore, he wrote a message on LinkedIn. He believes the company needs to make it easier for people to order and pay with their phones. Plus, he thinks Starbucks should focus on making top-notch drinks that stand out.
Schultz stressed the importance of putting customers first and focusing on what makes the stores special. He thinks this is more important than just looking at numbers.
After the recent quarterly report, Starbucks had to lower its expectations for the whole year. The company didn’t meet what Wall Street expected for its earnings and sales. Because of this, Starbucks’ shares dropped by 17%, and its value went down too.
Experts were surprised by Starbucks’ performance and tried to figure out why fewer people were coming to Starbucks in the U.S. One theory is that there might still be fallout from some negative social media attention related to Starbucks’ stance on issues in the Middle East.
Schultz, who helped turn Starbucks into the big company it is today, stepped down from his role as CEO over a year ago. He passed the torch to Laxman Narasimhan, who used to be in charge of Lysol. Schultz also left the Starbucks board last year.
Even though he’s not in charge anymore, Schultz seems to be advising the new CEO. He says leaders need to be both humble and confident as they try to make things better at Starbucks.
Schultz mentioned in an interview a year and a half ago that he doesn’t plan to become Starbucks’ CEO again.
