[GELORA45] Starbucks CEO steps down to focus on high-end coffee, shares fall

[jonathango...@yahoo.com [GELORA45]]

 

 Starbucks CEO steps down to focus on high-end coffee, shares fall 
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-starbucks-moves-idUSKBN13Q5S4

 

 
 
 Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz speaks during the company's annual 
shareholder's meeting in Seattle, Washington March 18, 2015.REUTERS/David Ryder
 

 By Lisa Baertlein http://www.reuters.com/journalists/lisa-baertlein and 
Gayathree Ganesan http://www.reuters.com/journalists/gayathree-ganesan
 Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O 
http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=SBUX.O) co-founder Howard 
Schultz will step down as chief executive to focus on new high-end coffee 
shops, handing the top job to Chief Operating Officer Kevin Johnson, a 
long-time technology executive.
 Schultz, who will become executive chairman in April 2017, said he would focus 
on building ultra-premium Reserve stores and showcase Roastery and Tasting 
Rooms around the world as well as setting the brand's "social impact agenda" 
that includes sending employees to college and recruiting veterans.
 Starbucks had signaled the change in July, but its shares fell 3.6 percent to 
$56.41 in extended trading on Thursday, as investors recalled the company's 
decline after Schultz handed over the reins in 2000. He returned in 2008.
 


 "Having him step down as CEO raised the anxiety level," said Stephens analyst 
Will Slabaugh, who said that Schultz is the heart and soul of the brand, its 
entrepreneurial leader and its savior.
 "We're in a much better position on every level," said Schultz, who returned 
for his second stint as CEO in the depths of the "Great Recession," when 
Starbucks' stock was trading below $10. Late last year, it hit an all-time high 
above $60. Schultz has put Starbucks in the national spotlight, asking 
customers not to bring guns into stores and urging conversations on race 
relations.
 Many of the campaigns have generated controversy, but analysts have not seen a 
hit to financial results and the efforts have raised the profile of the coffee 
company and cemented Schultz's status as a national figure.
 "The idea that he's replaceable, I think that's erroneous," said Bill Smead, 
CEO of Smead Capital Management in Seattle, which owns Starbucks shares. He 
compared the change to the retirement of long-time McDonald's Corp (MCD.N 
http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MCD.N) CEO Ray Kroc, who 
turned a handful of hamburger stands into the world's biggest restaurant 
company.
 The announcement on Thursday also came as investors worry about the restaurant 
industry's stubborn traffic declines. Starbucks has held up better than most, 
but it has not been immune.
 Johnson is a former technology executive who became president and chief 
operating officer at Starbucks in March 2015.
 Johnson has been on the Starbucks board since 2009 but most of his career was 
in the technology industry. He was the chief executive of Juniper Networks Inc 
(JNPR.N http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=JNPR.N) from 
September 2008 to January 2014 and prior to that held several senior positions 
at Microsoft Corp (MSFT.O 
http://www.reuters.com/finance/stocks/overview?symbol=MSFT.O).
 On a conference call after the announcement, analysts pressed the company on 
timing and whether, with Schultz stepping aside, senior management still had 
the "merchant gene."
 "Not having retail experience could be a problem over time," said Howard 
Penney, an analyst at Hedgeye Risk Management.

 "I'm not leaving the company and I'm here every day," said Schultz, whose 
office is connected to Johnson's.
 Traffic at established Starbucks cafes fell in the last quarter, which Johnson 
has attributed to a change in the company's loyalty program, and Starbucks 
forecast a mid-single-digit rise in 2017 same-store sales.
 The company dismissed speculation that Schultz could be preparing for a new 
career in politics.
 "He has no plans to run for political office, as he has said many times, and 
will remain with the company as Starbucks executive chairman, focusing on 
premium coffee," a spokeswoman said.
 
 (Reporting by Gayathree Ganesan and Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; additional 
writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Bill Rigby and Jonathan Oatis)