Source: Adam Smith, Esq.
Few brands are more prominent in our daily lives (well, at least if you’re a Western world urban dweller) than Starbucks. Its rise to prominence has become standard-issue corporate lore: From its single Seattle store founding in 1971 to Howard Schultz’s acquiring it and spreading it explosively worldwide. But you don’t need to read Adam Smith, Esq. to know that.
Instead we want to talk about corporate mis-steps and resilience. Starbucks seems to have gone through a lot of the former and so far not so much of the latter in recent years. Here’s the historic growth:
Harvard Business Review was on the story back in June well before the selection of a new CEO was announced (sit tight…) and diagnosed the problem trenchantly:
“Starbucks is in trouble again. In its last quarterly-earnings report, it announced disappointing results, including a 4% drop in same-store sales (11% in China, its second-biggest market). After that announcement, its stock plunged. (It is still well below its 12-month high.) And its founder and three-time CEO Howard Schultz once again red o a missive on LinkedIn pleading with Starbucks’ current leaders to rediscover and embrace the company’s core purpose, its reason for existence. […]”
Read full article: https://adamsmithesq.com/2024/09/the-fable-of-starbucks/
