Here’s How Starbucks is Doing After Schultz’s Resignation

With almost 30,000 locations all over the world, Starbucks got to be the most successful and most popular coffee shop in the entire world. They offer literally almost every type of coffee and pastries which makes them even more famous.

It was founded more than 47 years ago and their very first branch is in Seattle, Washington. Up to this date, that very first Starbucks get hundreds of customers everyday since they serve as a tourist spot for coffee lovers. However, Starbucks has also maintained the reputation for having a somewhat overpriced coffee, but their success shows that this doesn’t matter since almost everyone likes their products.

The Starbucks that we see today is something that Howard Schultz created, hence he is seen by the public as the architect of the modern Starbucks. For so many years, he changed the game and made Starbucks an empire, but a few months ago he decided that it was time for him to step down.

Schultz From CEO to US President

It was in 2017 when the news broke out that Schultz was stepping down as chairman and Kevin Johnson will take over. However, it became official when a memo was sent to employees earlier this June. Schultz joined the company back in the early 1980s but it was when the new millennium hit that he took over the leadership.

In just a matter of 8 years, he has managed to expand Starbucks from 3,500 branches into 16,000. In a statement last year, he said that his inspiration for success was coming from his father, who was a blue collar worker as well as a World War II veteran. Schultz said that he has to learn how to balance both social conscience as well as profitability together with his compassion and responsible attitude to make things work.

He was also the one who made extensive employee benefits for Starbucks employees including having health care, stock, ownership management and even a free college tuition. When he was the CEO of the company, he made sure to give opportunities to the veterans, military spouses, and even refugees.

There have been rumors that the former Starbucks CEO is planning to run for presidency in 2020. This is after he recently putting together an elite PR team. One of them is Steve Schmidt who is known for managing Sen. John McCain’s campaign back in 2008. Schultz is in the midst of writing a book which may contain his plans on the elections two years from now. Political strategist that although it has been confirmed and may not be confirmed till next year, these are massive signs that the former Starbucks CEO has his eyes on the White House.

Success After Schultz

When he stepped down, people think that Starbucks may lose its touch but the current stock and sales prove otherwise. A major racism incident happened in one of the Starbucks branches in Philadelphia wherein authorities had to get involved. This then dubbed Starbucks as a company who hires racists and even led to some people trying to boycott the company.

However, current CEO Kevin Johnson personally apologized for the incident and promised to do better. This then led to more than 8,000 of their stores closing down so that their employees undergo a racial bias training, which is an initiative that their customers totally appreciated.

This doesn’t stop the shares to fall more than 9 percent at that time, so Johnson had to do something to bounce back from that loss. This is where the sales in Starbucks US and China doubled and they reported that the earnings and revenue topped the forecast not just during the third quarter, but also the fourth. The key was the mobile ordering system that they introduced as well as the mobile payments. Not only that, but they also had the massive deal with Nestle wherein Starbucks-branded coffee ideas where talked about. Starbucks also continues to go global that in fact, they opened their very first location in Italy last September.

The country’s economy being stable and in great shape at the moment, which means wages are rising and the unemployment rate has grown down, the people are more willing to spend their money on coffee which is literally what most working adults need every single day.