Starbucks’ new chairman and CEO said Tuesday that he plans to focus on improving service – particularly during the morning rush – and reestablishing stores as gathering places as he takes over at the struggling coffee giant.
In an open letter on the Seattle coffee giant's website, Brian Niccol said Starbucks is a beloved brand but that he found during conversations with employees and customers over the past few weeks a “shared sense that we have drifted from our core.”
Starbucks' sales have fallen this year due to weaker U.S. store traffic and other issues, including rising competition in China and boycotts in the Middle East. Niccol said improving the store experience for both baristas and customers will help turn that around.
“Many of our customers still experience this magic every day, but in some places — especially in the U.S. — we aren’t always delivering,” said Niccol, who was named Starbucks' CEO in August but officially started the job on Monday. “It can feel transactional, menus can feel overwhelming, product is inconsistent, the wait too long or the handoff too hectic. These moments are opportunities for us to do better."
Niccol, who was the CEO of Chipotle before coming to Starbucks, said the company “founded on a love for high quality coffee” needs to make sure baristas have the proper tools and time to make drinks and personally deliver them to customers.
A rise in different channels -- like mobile, drive thru and delivery, which now make up 75% of orders -- has made store operations more complex and added to wait times. Store design should acknowledge that change and make a clear distinction between “to-go” orders and in-store service, and stores should be an inviting place to linger with comfortable seating, he said.
Niccol also said Starbucks needs to ensure it’s meeting the needs of morning customers.
“This means delivering outstanding drinks and food, on time, every time,” Niccol said.
Coffee is the heart of the company, Niccol said, and Starbucks' marketing should remind customers of its coffee expertise. That may have been a subtle dig at recent product introductions at Starbucks, including bubble tea and energy drinks.
Niccol said he plans to spend his first 100 days in Starbucks' stores and support centers and meeting with suppliers.
FILE - Brian Niccol, named the chairman and chief executive officer of Starbucks on Aug. 13, 2024, is shown during an interview on June 9, 2015, in New York. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The murder trial of a tech consultant in the stabbing death of Cash App founder Bob Lee begins Monday, a year and a half after the widely admired entrepreneur was found staggering on a deserted downtown San Francisco street seeking help.
Lee’s death at age 43 stunned the tech community, and fellow executives and engineers penned tributes to his generosity and brilliance. Lee was chief product officer of cryptocurrency platform MobileCoin when he died. He was a father to two children.
Prosecutors say Nima Momeni, 40, planned the April 4 attack after a dispute over his younger sister, Khazar, with whom Lee was friends. They say Momeni took a knife from his sister’s condo, drove Lee to a secluded area and stabbed him three times, then fled.
Defense lawyers disagree, and they say that Lee, high on drugs, attacked Momeni.
“Our theory is that Bob had the knife, and that Nima acted in self defense,” attorney Saam Zangeneh said.
He said his client is eager to tell his side of the story, but they haven't decided whether Momeni will testify in his defense.
Momeni, who lives in nearby Emeryville, California, has been in custody since his arrest days after Lee died at a San Francisco hospital. Momeni's mother has been a steadfast presence at court hearings, and he is close to his sister.
Prosecutors have said in court documents that a friend of Lee's told homicide investigators they had been drinking with Momeni’s sister the day before the stabbing. The friend said Momeni later questioned Lee about whether his sister was doing drugs or otherwise engaging in inappropriate behavior, and Lee said she had not.
Surveillance video of Lee’s final night shows him entering the posh Millennium Tower downtown, where Momeni’s sister lives with her husband, a prominent San Francisco plastic surgeon.
Video then shows Lee and Momeni leaving the building together after 2 a.m. and driving off in Momeni’s car. Lee was found around 2:30 a.m. in the Rincon Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, which has tech offices and condominiums but little activity in the early morning hours.
Police recovered a knife with a 4-inch (10-centimeter) blade at the scene. Prosecutors said tests showed Momeni’s DNA on the weapon’s handle and Lee’s DNA on the bloody blade. But the defense said police should have tested the handle for fingerprints, namely Lee's.
Momeni, who has pleaded not guilty, faces 26 years to life if convicted.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Alexandra Gordon has told jurors the trial could last until mid-December.
FILE - Flowers sit at a tree in front of the building where a technology executive was fatally stabbed outside of in San Francisco, April 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE - Nima Momeni, the man charged in the fatal stabbing of Cash App founder Bob Lee, makes his way into the courtroom for his arraignment in San Francisco, May 2, 2023. (Gabrielle Lurie/San Francisco Chronicle via AP, Pool, File)
