The Uncertain Future of Post-Pandemic Starbucks
How did the coffee behemoth get left behind in the pandemic?
In early 2007, the world seemed partly owned by Starbucks. It did not matter what country you were in, or what direction you walked — everywhere you were sooner or later bound to encounter one of the company’s outlets, habitués lined up, sometimes out the door, for some version of their four-dollar iced or frothed coffee. Inside would be a similar scene — laptops out at some tables, pals gabbing away at others, a cross-generational crowd drawn by one of the most iconic, desired, and ubiquitous brands of the era.
But Howard Schultz, the company’s visionary and former CEO, saw something different when he gazed over the same landscape. Revenue was enviably up, just like always, yet growth was slowing — by a lot. And Schultz thought he knew why: In a march for global dominance — efficiency and stores everywhere — Starbucks had lost its soul and its romance. You still got your latte, but as though on a conveyor belt. From a handcrafted, ultra-personalized product — a “third place” between the office and home, as Schultz called it — Starbucks had turned itself into a commodity. And that was a deadly wrong turn. Sure enough, over the subsequent months, Starbucks’ share price plunged by 45%.
By last January, if you…
