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Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol promises bold changes with overhaul of US locations
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Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol promises bold changes with overhaul of US locations

Starbucks plans to overhaul its U.S. locations, adding more comfortable seating, ceramic mugs and a coffee-and-condiment bar, with customer wait times less than four minutes, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol told investors Wednesday.

Starbucks investors, faced with declining demand for expensive beverages and a decline in share prices in key U.S. and Chinese markets, new CEO to lead the company back to growth.

company last week suspended his prediction For fiscal year 2025.

“Our financial results have been extremely disappointing and it is clear that we need to fundamentally change our strategy to win back customers and return to growth,” Niccol said.

Starbucks plans to overhaul its U.S. locations, adding more comfortable seating, ceramic mugs and a coffee condiment bar, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol told investors Wednesday. access point

The CEO said he wanted to “make it easier for our customers to get a cup of coffee” and that the company would aim to reduce wait times to under four minutes. To help with this and clarify prices, Niccol said the company will also simplify its menu.

Niccol stated that staffing levels may increase, Complaint frequently expressed by baristas and by Starbucks Workers United, which is trying to unionize Starbucks workers. “I want to make sure the teams have the personnel to win every transaction,” he said.

Investors hope Niccol, an industry veteran and former president of Chipotle Mexican Grill, will simplify the company’s leadership and business structure and revitalize the coffeehouse culture at Starbucks’ U.S. stores.

Niccol said ceramic mugs will be given to customers who stay in the cafe, and in the coming months, action will be taken to separate pick-up orders from sit-down orders. He said “common sense guardrails” would be placed on mobile orders.

The company’s shares have risen nearly 26% since Niccol took over from Laxman Narasimhan as CEO in a surprise announcement in August. Christopher Sadowski

The company’s shares are up nearly 26% since then. Niccol replaces Laxman Narasimhan as CEO With a surprise announcement in August. There were not many changes in the extended proceedings on Wednesday.

Starbucks on Wednesday reported a 7% decline in global comparable sales in the fourth quarter after announcing preliminary results for the quarter ended Sept. 29 last week.

Comparable transactions, reflecting traffic at its stores, fell for the third consecutive quarter in North America.

The Seattle-based company’s strategy to boost demand through promotions and improved loyalty program offerings has failed in the face of cost-conscious consumers cutting back on spending. Niccol acknowledged Wednesday that the company focuses marketing too narrowly on rewarding its members.

Niccol wants to reduce customer wait times to under four minutes. access point

Loyalty program growth was slow in the fourth quarter; 90-day active members in the US remained steady, respectively. This compares with a 3% sequential increase reported in the third quarter.

Starbucks also faces an uphill battle in China, where it is dealing with a choppy macroeconomic recovery and stiff competition from local brands.

Comparable sales in China, the company’s second-largest market after the United States, have declined for three consecutive quarters and fell 14% in the fourth quarter.

International comparable sales fell 9% in the fourth quarter, according to data compiled by LSEG; This was more than the 6.5% decline analysts expected.

The company’s net income fell to $909.3 million, or 80 cents per share, from $1.22 billion, or $1.06 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Sept. 29 a year earlier.

Some menu simplifications coming soon. On Wednesday, a company spokesperson confirmed the chain would remove it from the menu on Nov. 7. olive oil drinksThis decision, supported by former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, was made before Niccol became CEO.