Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol declared the coffee giant has moved past stabilizing its business and entered the next phase of its turnaround, telling employees in a memo that "our business has made the turn." In an exclusive CNBC interview Thursday, Niccol said the shine is back on Starbucks two years after taking charge, crediting employees with embracing his Back to Starbucks strategy; CNBC noted the stock had risen about 10% since his first day as CEO and roughly 30% since his appointment was announced. The company is about nine months into its store-uplift program and has already renovated well over 1,000 coffeehouses, with Niccol expecting that total to reach at least 1,500 by the end of the fiscal year, followed by upgrades at thousands of additional locations in the next fiscal year. Niccol is also pushing the Green Apron service model, focused on appropriate staffing, effective employee deployment and stronger in-store support, and Starbucks has installed digital menu boards across nearly all its coffeehouses to promote different products throughout the day. Niccol specifically highlighted protein cold foam and recommended the pumpkin version, which Starbucks promoted with Martha Stewart during its seasonal pumpkin-spice launch.
Starbucks CorporationCEO says the Back to Starbucks turnaround has turned the corner, with over 1,000 stores renovated and new products like protein cold foam driving the strategy.
NVIDIA Corporation