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Laura Vecsey
Seattle People Examiner
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Schultz's Starbucks' mission now includes deep cuts
The number of Starbucks' jobs expected to be lost is 12,000. This news made Starbucks stock value bounce back up today, which means stockholders are eager to see Starbucks return to fighting shape despite the devastating impact these job losses will have in Seattle and beyond. Like a Glenda The Good Witch of the Pacific Northwest as compared to the Evil Wal-Mart, Starbucks pays good wages and offers nice benefits to its revered employees, including part-timers. No more laundry list of job openings on the Starbucks jobs board.
But what else could Howard Schultz do? In taking back leadership of his Starbucks Enterprise since the release of Schultz e-mail about Starbucks losing its soul, Schu.jpg)
ltz has been chomping at the bit to return the allegedly hand-crafted coffee purveyor back to its retro roots, which Schultz has said is all about the perfect cup of coffee. It's also no surprise, then, that 70 percent of the stores that will be closed were stores that have opened since 2006. That seems a clear signal from Schultz that without Schultz, the company had lost focus and became too aggressive at the expense of quality & the Starbucks experience.
Starbucks says it's going to reach out to customers whose local storefronts will be boarded up -- another in a long list of customer interface initiatives Schultz has implemented since coming back on board this past spring. But tougher economic times have probably doubled Starbucks' needs to get leaner, fast.
There's no question that Starbucks was ballooning in middle age and needed some restraint. However, our question today is whether Schultz is under-estimating the market changes and challenges Starbucks faces. He changed the coffee game forever with his Starbucks revolution -- and everyone who likes coffee and was sick of 7-Eleven as the only ubiquitous outlet has to applaud Schultz for getting us a good coffee fix where we needed and wanted one. But, the "feel-good" community center around which he built his coffee shops is a tough model to uphold in the face of becoming a huge, worldwide chain.
It's like Schultz is not keen on innovating as much as he's eager to return to the past -- an instinct that he also tried when he owned the Sonics. A community asset; something we can all share and take pride in; something good-natured and valued. Look where the Sonics are heading -- south & east, to Oklahoma.
Schultz has also taken tons of hits on message boards and online surveys aimed at allowing customers to help redefined the Starbucks Experience.
1. Free WiFi might help.
2. Really hand-crafted espresso might also help.
3. Getting rid of breakfast sandwiches is not a revolution.
4. We liked the chicken salad sandwiches when we were in a rush and had to count on them to get us through 'tl dinner.
Topics: Starbucks , Schultz
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