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Starbucks Is Closing 150 Stores Two Months After Introducing “Racial Bias” Training

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Via Bloomberg:

Americans’ long-running joke about a Starbucks on every corner may be nearing its end.

The coffee behemoth is retrenching in its home market as it contends with sales growth that Chief Executive Officer Kevin Johnson acknowledges isn’t fast enough. The cafe chain said Tuesday it expects comparable sales to rise just 1 percent globally for the current quarter—the worst performance in about nine years. That’s well below the 2.9 percent analysts were expecting, according to Consensus Metrix.

Starbucks also plans to close about 150 company-operated stores in densely penetrated U.S. markets next fiscal year, three times the number it historically shuts down annually. Shares of Starbucks slid as much as 6.3 percent in late trading Tuesday to $53.82.

“Our growth has slowed a bit,” Johnson said in an interview. “I expect better, I think our shareholders deserve better, and we’re committed to address that.”

Although business abroad has been booming and the chain has been opening more and more cafes, U.S. sales growth has stalled for the company that brought espresso to the masses. With about 14,000 stores domestically, Starbucks is now pumping the brakes on licensed and company-operated locations, with a renewed focus on rural and suburban areas—not over-caffeinated urban neighborhoods where locals already joke that the next Starbucks will open inside an existing store.

The closing stores are often in “major metro areas where increases in wage and occupancy and other regulatory requirements” are making them unprofitable, Johnson said. “Now, in a lot of ways, it’s middle America and the South that presents an opportunity.”

For the ubiquitous chain, moving slower and shutting unprofitable stores may trigger some deja vu. In 2008, longtime leader Howard Schultz returned to the company that was struggling after expanding too quickly across the U.S., giving competitors like McDonald’s Corp. a chance to elbow back into breakfast. Investors cheered as Schultz retook the helm and closed some underperforming stores, and share prices at the chain have been up eight of the last 10 years. So far this year through Tuesday’s close, shares have been essentially flat.

4chan coupon makes fun of Starbucks’ pandering to social justice

But now, with Schultz stepping back from his beloved company, the task of the righting the ship will fall to Johnson, who took over as a CEO just over a year ago. Schultz, who had already transitioned away from running the coffee chain’s day-to-day operations, announced earlier this month he’d be leaving the company, fueling speculation he could be gearing up for a political career. Veteran retailing executive Myron Ullman is taking over as the new head of the board as Schultz departs.

While Schultz had been trying to expand the Seattle company’s premium business, dubbed Reserve, along with Italian bakery Princi, analysts have speculated that these may be put on the back burner under the new leadership. The company is also facing a resurgent McDonald’s, which has been advertising $2 cold-brew coffees, along with other steep discounts from fast-food rivals.

“The competitive environment has really become a lot stronger in the U.S. and a lot of that is the fast-food chains really improving the quality and breadth of their offerings in terms of hot beverages and breakfast,” said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jennifer Bartashus. Americans can “get that same flavor profile at a much lower price somewhere else. That becomes an area of concern for Starbucks.”

Starbucks has also faced backlash this spring after two black men were arrested at one of its stores in Philadelphia while waiting for a meeting to begin. The company and Johnson apologized, calling the arrests “reprehensible.” Last month, Starbucks closed about 8,000 cafes so its employees could undergo racial-bias training, which did hurt sales in the quarter, Johnson said. After stores reopened following the May 29 training, sales have started to rebound at U.S. locations, with the chain expecting domestic same-store sales growth of around 3 percent in June, according to the company.

Women are equal… until it gets in the way of profits in the Middle East

Starbucks says it can attract more diners in the U.S. with new menu items and will focus on its expanding tea business, as well as capitalizing on health and wellness trends. Starbucks just added a new mango-dragon fruit iced drink to its permanent menu in the U.S. and Canada. And it’s focused on improving its food lineup with sous vide egg bites, plus a new line of lunch salads and sandwiches that it’s expanding across the nation.

“We’re putting more of our energy into that afternoon day part and the portfolio of beverages that are offsetting some of the declines we’re seeing in Frappuccino beverages,” Johnson said, citing a consumer shift away from sugary drinks. The company is also preparing to “lean into more plant-based beverages,” he said, noting that a new plant-based protein cold-brew drink will be introduced this summer.

The chain is also relying on its digital initiatives to contribute between 1 and 2 percent to comparable sales next fiscal year. There’s going to be a new way for non-rewards customers to earn stars and rewards starting next spring, allowing visitors to cash in on loyalty without fully signing up.

Read the entire article

Don’t Miss: Why Heterosexual Men Should Boycott Starbucks

54 thoughts on “Starbucks Is Closing 150 Stores Two Months After Introducing “Racial Bias” Training”

    2. Good riddance! StarBucks is overpriced lousy coffee anyway.
      It should be called FatBucks (or MichaelMooreBucks). Their most popular drinks have between 400 and 950 calories per cup. ❗ Yep, it is horrifying….
      [img]https://healthylifeandhappymind.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/starbucks-calories-2.jpg?w=560[/img]
      An average man should consume about 1,300 cal per day; average woman 1,000 cal per day.
      You drink 1 cup of this garbage and then later eat 3 moderate meals and do not do hardcore weight-lifting at end of the day, you become a disgusting blob or lard anyway, like Michael Moore eventually. 😮
      Dunkin’ Donut coffee is cheaper and better anyway. Hope this “coffee shop” Marxist fat factory closes down completely anyway. 🙂

      2. Agreed. Starbucks is more guilty of selling sugar-water than Coke and Pepsi!
        And, it seems females are incapable of walking from one point to another without sucking on one of these mega calorie drinks, like a baby’s binky.

        1. Prepz, and then people wonder why our women are land whales. 🙄
          Women DRINK most of their calories each day at places like SB, do not work out, and then after age 40, they expect to marry a millionaire bodybuilder with a 15″ dick, with Leo DiCaprio’s face. lol 😆
          StarBucks should have Michael Moore as its spokesperson. We should sue them for false advertisement, since their logo is a thin green woman when their products make you look like Michael Moore in no time. Their stuff is liquid high-calorie sugar placed inside an environmentally UN-FRIENDLY cup, costing as much as liquid silver per ounce. 🙄
          Why PAY for that sugary, fattening crap “coffee” anyway?
          As of right now, SB company policies dictate ANYONE can come inside, hang out as long as they want, use the bathrooms, and mooch off their WiFi FREE anyway. Why BUY anything?!?
          Can’t wait until that place closes down altogether.

        2. They are not “our women”. Over 90 % of women in Germoney voted for more mass immigration.
          They are their women!

      3. I don’t eat corporate food or drinks. I have zero trust in what’s really in it!

      4. “An average man should consume about 1,300 cal per day; average woman 1,000 cal per day.”
        If you wanna be a soyboy, maybe. Real men lift weights and eat steaks. 2500cal MINIMUM.

  2. Good riddance. Haven’t stepped foot in one since I was a teenager and that was only because that’s where the girls wanted to meet to “hang out” before taking the D

  4. Starbucks latest feminist customer craze, KARMA, and she is an expensive bratty bitch. Look forward soon to coffee prices coming down to draw more customers to their public shitting and sleeping spaces. You know, that overpriced restroom with a coffee shop attached to it.

    1. The first time I heard about Starbucks it was Oprah promoting it. Gave her whole audience a fucking frappachino. Says it all.

      1. Must have been super yummy when oprah handed it to you personally and you both gazed into each others eyes as you slurped down that sweet nectar.

  5. Shitty coffee disguised with sugary flavoring.
    I’ll drink JFG black coffee any day over their “designer coffee” swill.

  6. Starbucks is the only place I know of (besides city streets in San Francisco) where a guy can take a dump and not buy anything.

    1. Public defecation really is a left-wing thing isn’t it?
      I mean look at shithouse India. 500 million people there still poo in the streets and just about all Indians in western countries are all on the blue wave. lol
      #CleanPeopleVoteRight #LeftWingersSmellBad #TakeThePooToTheLoo

    2. I’ve done that at Taco Bell. There’s a joke somewhere in there about ordering a number 2.

  7. Closing 150 of 14,000 US stores is only a 1.07% decrease in stores, which is far from a precipitous decline or implosion. More like an overdue minor course correction as Starbucks over saturated some markets during its heavy growth years in the US. Nothing to see here folks. Move along.

    1. They did the same thing in 2008. (After they brought back the chain’s founder.) Mostly stores in sketchy/minority areas and/or with difficult automobile traffic patterns that make a visit problematic. You’re probably seeing the same thing here. (I can think of a few that fit this description and so can you.)
      The real metric that’s important is same store sales. If they’re down across the board, then that means:
      1) The brand has lost it cachet. (Fickle consumers.)
      2) Or it’s a bellwether that people are worried about money and cutting back.
      Really, I suspect that it’s neither. (A few years from now maybe, but not at present.) Notice the mention of growth targets and how disappointing a +~1% result was. Thus, to my mind at least, Starbucks reveals itself to be a Stage 7 corporation where “The financial people begin to impose controlsfor short-term results.” In other words, innovation becomes secondary to chasing the quarterly report. Gotta’ keep those funds happy.
      As for the whole Bathroom thing, that’s already blown over. A big (and absurd) show of PC mea culpa, and in 4 weeks nobody remembers, American’s short term media memories and all that. Plus a good chunk of the stores they’re closing are probably in the Ghetto anyway. Disaffected Minorities, Transients and the Bathroom Problem solved!
      Just a thought.
      VicB3

    2. Well we certainly know where to encourage the homeless and the desperate for restroom go to. Oh and if you think you’ve seen it all at the Starbucks out on the economy you should see the clientele that shows up at the ones on the military bases talk about a concentrated version of liberalism and feminism. It makes videos of the people of Walmart look sane. Wamaloes and dependopotomuses, spending their soldiers money like they were millionaires. You definitely know where all of the 80s Lycra and spandex went to.

    3. Divident:
      A 1% decrease is significant because it is ALL corporate-run stores.
      StarBucks (SB) earnings were well-below expectations. Their stock took almost a 10% hit in trading day. Yes, all stocks fluctuate, but many investors see trouble ahead with better, cheaper, healthier, and more interesting coffee shop trends popping up and growing all over the USA right now.
      Point being: if you can come into a SB, use the bathroom, hang out as long as you want, bum off their free Wi-Fi and NOT buy anything, why not do that?!? It is a no-brainer. It ios a hang-out spot, like a public library. How do you pay rent with that?!?
      SB is and was a fad, just like Crocks sandals were. Yes, they are still around, but are becoming a shadow of what it once were.

  8. Starbucks can die for all I care but this is not simply the left eating their own, it is blacks going feral at the thought of having to follow the same rules as everyone else. They believe they ‘deserve special treatment’ and can ignore the law when it is convenient for them. Nothing wears on a white man’s civility like the flabby lips and sclerotic eyes of an uppity negro, demanding access to white women, white money, and white opportunity, when the natural laws of selection qualified him as farm equipment and nothing else.

    1. I have nothing against Starbucks or Black people, but I refuse to drink coffee in a shelter for the homeless (unless it’s free).

    2. Great description there Herb and now the said farm equipment has been rendered obsolete, isn’t there a case to be made for it’s return to place of origin ?

  9. I used to frequent Starbucks. Not because their coffee or food is good, but because it was convenient to get some wifi access and a seat between client visits. Five bucks isn’t bad “rent” to pay for 50-70 minutes of internet time. After the whole “I’m black and can do whatever I want” incident though I no longer frequent the business. Instead got a library card for $10 and just find a local branch. Most have wifi and the urban ones do have homeless people but at least I don’t have to buy stuff. They have magazines too which I would never purchase, and will check out the occasional book which I would never buy off Amazon for $20. So, win, win. Thanks Starbucks for sucking. It has worked out great for me.

  11. You know what bothers me more than the SJW shit? Though maybe it’s a side effect of it. The nigh extinction of the cute girl at the window or behind the counter. Not just Starbucks but chains and independent places even in college towns. Such a sad loss. Dated several coffee shop girls.
    I also believe it’s my god given right as a man to have my black coffee served to me by a cute flirty girl whose at least a 6.

  12. It would be great if Starbucks closes more and more stores, and black rifle coffee company buys all of those abandoned properties and puts their stores in, and succeeds.

  14. This is what happens when you apologize to liberals.
    Starbucks cut off a finger in shame. Liberals want a hand … or an arm. Most likely they want balls.

    1. That whole story about the arrests was ridiculous. An obvious shake down. Everyone knows that you can’t meet at a private business, then sit there indefinitely.
      Whenever I have had to wait a considerable time for a meeting in a cafe or bar, I buy some trifling thing – a mineral water or a biscuit – to make myself a customer. It is that simple.

  15. As far as being a guy who likes coffee black, with nothing else in it, Starbucks sucks. I can buy some super quality coffee and make it myself, way cheaper than going to Starbucks every day would cost me. Their black coffee is awful, even when it’s freshly brewed. 7 eleven stores, Pilot Stores and other coffee chains have better tasting black coffee and often cheaper by a quarter or so, not a big deal for myself but think 100 cups down the road and it’s significant. A lot of the Starbucks I’ve gone to with my girl, are also dirty, the tables being constantly “sticky” and the chairs awful to sit in, especially the “elevated ones”, often the only ones available. If I throw in my political views on Starbucks, I can honestly say that I don’t have the slightest reason to go their any longer.

  16. Their coffee is the equivalent to drinking sump oil. I hope they choke and fucking drown.

  17. As a red-pill man it is our duty to continue to boycott these evil establishments and encourage others to do so. The culture won’t change itself. It starts with every one of us.

    1. i dont want culture to change for the better. i want them to become even more bad. but yes its a mans personal duty to boycott bitchiness, pussyness, simpness, cowardice, etc every evil thing within one self. standing against every little thing the world throws at us.

  19. I look at the picture of the cashier/barrista with a megaphone in his face. Sad. Kinda says it all.

  20. Go ScarCucks, die already and take your whiny SJW-scum with you. I am glad I have never entered one of those leftist shitholes. No money from me, never ever, Kevin. Btw. Kevin ist not a name, it’s a diagnosis. 😉
    Sorry for ranting.

  21. Wow.
    Americans are such pussified snowflakes now that they want the Gestapo to hold their hand when they pee-pee.
    Americans used to support freedom, but they have now morphed into Nazis and Communists. Americans will easily go to the gulags because Fascists think the police state only affects Commies and Communists believe tyranny targets Nazis.
    Conservatives tend to support small government, be moral, go to church, be responsible, be independent, and oppose killing unborn children. Conservatives generally dislike alcohol, drugs, premarital sex, and minorities.
    Liberals often favor science and Socialism and are impulsive. Leftists are more likely to support welfare, drinking, drug use, homosexuality, and open borders.
    Since Americans tolerate debt, wars, nanny state laws, Obamacare, food stamps, regulations, offshoring, homosexuality, increasing taxes, illegal immigrants, security cameras, license plate readers, checkpoints, redlight cameras, speed cameras, FBI facial and voice recognition, curfews, gun bans, searches without warrants, mandatory minimums, DNA databases, CISPA, SOPA, NDAA, IMBRA, private prison quotas, no knock raids, take down notices, no fly lists, terror watch lists, Constitution free zones, stop and frisk, 3 strikes laws, kill switches, National Security Letters, kill lists, FBAR, FATCA, Operation Chokepoint, civil forfeiture, CIA torture, NDAA indefinite detention, secret FISA courts, FEMA camps, laws requiring passports for domestic travel, IRS laws denying passports for tax debts, gun and ammo stockpiles, laws outlawing protesting, police militarization, NSA wiretapping, the end to the right to silence, free speech bans, private prisons, FOSTA, TSA groping, and Jade Helm then what is to stop the elites from sending the 99% to the concentration camps?
    The US has crossed every line.
    Life has become unbearable. Who wants to live in a prison? Hard work is punished with taxes and regulations, jobs have been offshored, illegal immigrants are flooding the country, and laziness is rewarded with welfare.
    Wake the fuck up.

    1. Gestapo??? You are really misinformed about that.
      What we are talking about here is jewish NKVD clones.

    2. not all americans are soyboys. there are many MANY strong ones. they just don’t live in forums to shout all day. they vote. and they act when it matters.

    3. Free speech forum-
      That is one impressive list. And sentence too. To be fair though, some of the things you listed were intended to offset the damage done by previous ones. Which liberals wasted no time perverting. So yeah, it doesn’t look good, does it?

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