Quite recently, the CEO of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, gave an interview to USA Today. I believe it took place at the Olive Way Starbucks within the past two weeks. The interview is really interesting, and I love some of his answers. Notice that Howard knows where every single Starbucks is! We no longer need the store locator, we’ve got his brain. 😉 It almost pains me to read that he counts Sorbetto as his biggest flop, which was one freakin’ seriously delicious addictive drink. It just goes to show you that just because it’s delicious doesn’t mean that it will sell or can be scaled to thousands of stores. I would have guessed that Chantico, or Joe Magazine would have ranked high as biggest flops.
Here is the USA Today interview:
Some of the things he talks about, we’ve heard before. For a long time, Starbucks has said that Asia would be its largest growth market for new stores. I want to point out that he likes the fact that Starbucks is being talked about on twitter! I would highly encourage everyone to share this article on twitter. 😉
Howard mentions new store growth of about 100 to 200 new stores in North America each year. If anyone knows any gossip of where new stores are going to be, I’d love to hear it. Last but not least, he mentions his new book Onward.
I hope all of you will take a look at the article and tell me what you think! I don’t usually re-post news on this site (since I create my own content) but this interview was too good to pass up!
Enjoy! Our best days are ahead of us!
(PS: The photo of Howard Schultz for this blog post comes from an event at the headquarters on January 5, 2011. That previous blog article has some audio of Howard Schultz, if you want to hear him speak.)
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Thanks so much for sharing this…I often read the USA today on my iPad…very good newspaper. Love it. But I missed this article. Great! Thank you! 🙂
Starbucks is waiting for the U.S Green Building Council to pre-certify its new store design as LEED (green), rather than each location having to be certified individually.
I can certainly see these new locations in areas where older Starbucks’ leases run out, market conditions have changed, etc.
I can’t wait to sample the Cake Pops and Whoopie Pies :p
Well, am not sure what I think of his interview. interesting.
I think alot of what’s happened since 2008 (starting, especially in ’08) has been more disappointing than ‘better’. The whole world of VIA kind of bothers me, even tho I like it, keep it on hand and use it. I just wish they’d STOP now,….with VIA.
I have to re-read and respond again. I thought the interviewer was being an ass when he kept pressing him about “what is the correct age to start drinking coffee”. stupid, really stupid persistence (on that issue, I thought)
have to re-read and re-respond.
Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed the interview, maybe I’m just a big Starbucks mark, I mean heck where would I be without my Venti Soy no whip white chocolate mocha!!
I read the USA Today Howard Schultz interview while enjoying my morning coffee at my favorite Starbucks. I showed it to the Store Manager and she remarked that it had some interesting stuff and was going to post a copy for the Store Partners to read. She too was surprised at the Sorbetto comment as she had had the opportunity to try it during a visit to California.
It would be interesting to revisit this interview a year from now and see how much is still true.
Looking forward to tomorrow so I can pick up my pre-order of Tribute. I don’t know if other stores are doing this, but at my Starbucks they have wrapped each pre-order with silver ribbon and a personalized tag–nice touch.
The news was interesting, in various meanings.
denise r,
Me too. I laughed by the question.
“what is the correct age to start drinking coffee”. Interviewer said.
“This is a parental issue”. He said. LOL 😀
Melody,
I am disappointed about Sorbetto. I mean, I have not tried it. I wanted to drink it.
Also, 3 kinds of Vivanno is released, but when is the new taste testing released?
It’s not the sorbetto they needed… it’s an afogatto. Which would require Starbucks Ice Cream to turn to Starbucks Gelatto.
Great article…
I love that he said health and wellness intrigues him. In addition, it puts a smile on my face when he talks about the myth that all the drinks are over $4.00.
I am very much looking forward to trying tribute coffee tomorrow morning- Have you tried the tribute via btw?
Health and Wellness is a great aspiration in the U.S., but the reality is that it doesn’t sell well.
For a comparison, take a look at the Starbucks UK website http://bit.ly/ekxxfF – they have an incredible selection of items that we do not have here in the States (like hummus and veggie sticks). I remember the complaints about the hummus being paired with chicken and therefore not a good vegetarian option.
CD-
I believe I’ve seen hummus and veggies in some Boston stores. I”ve never purchased it because I don’t go to Starbucks for that. I actually think Starbucks has taken the next step in helping with health by having smaller sizes pastries, oatmeals (that allow you to add what you want), and by not using whole milk unless the customer asks for it. I would love to see a breakfast sandwich without cheese one of these days though.
I read the article this morning and found it pretty interesting to see his recent perspective of things. Can’t wait for tomorrow…I didn’t have a chance to stop by Starbucks today so I don’t know if the stores around here have started decorating yet.
Did anyone see the Tribute Days post on the Starbucks website and Facebook? I am so glad the minis…err petites! are finally going to be here! 🙂
I worked for Starbucks in Vancouver, Canada in the early 90s, right when it became a publicly traded company. It’s sure gone through a lot of changes, and many of them, I’ve enjoyed. I still can’t wrap my head around VIA, though. I can’t drink it the stuff.
The food has undergone some changes, and it has improved-although I think it still could be better. My biggest frustration is a lot of the items have nuts, and therefore I can’t eat them.
It’s Tuesday! Happy today!!!!! (I say, drinking Tribute)
Happy anniversary / Happy Tribute day!! 😉
I am really surprised there was not an email in my inbox from Starbucks this morning. I know they sent one out a couple of weeks ago, but I thought there might be another one.
Oh Melody you have mad eme miss the chantico, it was so delicious!
I’m sure you know about this but I came across this article this morning
http://news.starbucks.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=501
As a person who isn’t a fan of cupcakes but obsessed with peanut butter, I cannot wait for the peanut butter cupcake…
well…..the ‘petites’ at my store were a little disappointing. they only sent them 4 of each, for one thing. I bought 2 of the red velvet whoopie pies, wiping out 50% of that choice. I’m sure they’re likely all good but, truly a bite or two. The cakes on a stick were also a LITTLE smaller than I expected…more like a lollipop, but didn’t get to try them yet.
I have to go back later today anyway…. have been enjoying Tribute…and think the canister w/ a lb of Tribute is a great deal.
I’m guessing this should all be in another thread…… 🙁
Melody … the biggest financial SBUX flop was clearly the whole dot-com dealio in the late 90s. Living.com. Cooking.com. Kozmo.com. And a few other “all-in” Internet bets all failed hugely. SBUX lost tens of millions of dollars in 2000 from its dot-com investments. SBUX stock took a MASSIVE MASSIVE MASSIVE hit. I remember the somberness following the company-wide meeting where HS came clean and admitted the company gambled and lost big-time. The Sorbetto failure compares in comparison. The Hear Music listening station CD burning station initiative also pales in comparison to the dot-com gamble.
This interview was so informative! As young adults in our early twenties, Starbucks is considered our second home. With college midterms, projects, and finals, we could not live without Starbucks coffee! From this interview, we learned about Starbucks past and its future. When reading your responses, there were a couple of comments that stuck out. The first comment stated, “We have to recognize that our customers feel as if this store is their store.” In a sense, Starbucks is our home away from home. Because we are college students, when we hear the word Starbucks, we instantly think of sweats or pajamas, Grande coffees, laptops, books, or anything else that makes our experience comfortable and enjoyable.
Your second comment that grabbed our attention stated, “We certainly had challenging moments. But there was not one single moment when I thought we couldn’t overcome the challenges.” This comment not only showed your passion to your business, but it showed your passion to us and the rest of your Starbucks consumers. We certainly cannot speak for everyone, but we keep Starbucks close to our hearts and our stomachs! Starbucks is a place that we want to keep on our route to class and work! Thank you so much for your hard work and sharing this interview!