Summer Cold Brew Coffee Making Method! Super Simple Iced Coffee Tutorial with Pictures

Howard Schultz Announces Permanent Departure from CEO Position

Recently, Howard Schultz - the Starbucks founder who has "come out of retirement" for the third time - stated that he will never serve as CEO again, because the company has found the right person. He will step down as CEO while remaining a board member and will serve as a long-term advisor to Narasimhan.

A few days earlier, Starbucks had announced its new appointment: Reckitt Benckiser CEO Laxman Narasimhan as Starbucks' next leader. Speaking of the challenges facing the new CEO, Howard Schultz said Starbucks is in for a "protracted war."

Chinese Market and Leadership Transition

On the Chinese market, he predicted that in terms of company footprint, China will eventually surpass the United States. Narasimhan, appearing on the same program, described his onboarding at Starbucks as a "structured immersion process" that gives him the chance to serve as an apprentice. The appointment takes effect on October 1st of this year.

On March 16th this year, just hours before Starbucks' annual shareholders' meeting, the company announced that Kevin Johnson - 13 years with the company, 5 as CEO - would retire on April 4th. The Starbucks board said Johnson had signaled his intention to retire a full year earlier.

With no successor in place until his April retirement, Schultz - who led the company for 30 years - returned as interim CEO, once again at the helm of the world's largest coffee chain, the company he built from scratch. As he once put it: "When you love something, you have a strong sense of responsibility, and you choose to reach out and help."

Howard Schultz: The Creator and Cultural Architect

The 68-year-old Schultz is the creator and cultural architect of Starbucks. He said he had previously had no plans to return, having focused on establishing an innovation framework while guiding and grooming Starbucks' next long-term CEO. He also made clear he wouldn't stay long, and requested the company pay him $1 as "compensation" for his interim tenure. His return as the legendary founder of Starbucks thrilled many.

In truth, Schultz wasn't Starbucks' earliest founder. When he first visited Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle in early 1981, he was merely a sales manager for a Swedish coffee machine manufacturer. In 1982, the 29-year-old Schultz was hired as Starbucks' Director of Retail Operations and Marketing.

The Vision and the Split

Schultz worked hard to convince Starbucks' then-owners to offer traditional espresso drinks and successfully piloted them in several stores. But the owners concluded that servicing espresso machines in the United States was very expensive and that Americans weren't familiar with the drinks, so they declined to back Schultz's idea further.

So Schultz left Starbucks in 1985 and bet on introducing espresso to the American market himself, opening his own specialty coffee shop. The store had very few seats and served ice cream alongside coffee. In 1988, Starbucks' original management pivoted, renamed the company Peet's Coffee & Tea, and sold its retail division to Schultz for $3.8 million.

Building a Global Empire

From then on, Schultz renamed his coffee shop Starbucks and expanded across the United States. Under his leadership, Starbucks built a vast marketing network, shaped American and ultimately global coffee culture, and became the world's largest coffee chain brand.

Current Challenges

Rising global shipping and coffee bean costs have weighed on profits, according to Starbucks' Q2 2022 financial report. Total net revenue for the second quarter was $8.144 billion, up 9% from $7.497 billion a year earlier, with diluted EPS of $0.80. Global same-store sales rose 3%, with North America up 9% - but China down 44%.

Starbucks' other revenue in the quarter grew by $222 million, which the company attributed to higher product sales and royalty income from the Global Coffee Alliance plus growth in its ready-to-drink business. As of July 3, 2022, Starbucks operated 34,900 company-operated and licensed stores worldwide, a 5% year-over-year increase.

The pandemic has also driven turnover sharply higher: one quarter of baristas at Starbucks US stores now resign within 90 days, versus roughly one-tenth previously. And despite being the world's largest coffee chain, Starbucks faces no shortage of competitors. Brands like Luckin Coffee are scaling fast, while established beverage companies and new tea brands keep launching innovative products that siphon away customers and potential customers. Starbucks is fighting on multiple fronts.

Looking to the Future

Now founder Howard Schultz says he will never be CEO again. What changes will Starbucks see under new chief Laxman Narasimhan? Time will tell.

Image source: Internet

FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

Corporate drama aside, the real protracted war worth fighting is over your own cup - and few drinks are as rewarding as homemade cold brew. Because cold extraction amplifies floral and fruity tones while softening woody, roasted notes, lightly-to-medium roasted beans are the way to go. FrontStreet Coffee's natural-process Ethiopia Huakui is a standout, steeping into magnolia, creamy strawberry, dried mango, guava, and black tea layers with barely a trace of bitterness.

For lush, juice-like cold brew, FrontStreet Coffee's Kenya Little Tomato - SL28 and SL34 from Thika at 1,550-1,750 meters, K72 double-washed - pours out cherry tomato, pear, and black plum brightness over ice. Prefer flowers and citrus? The washed Yirgacheffe Guodingding from FrontStreet Coffee delivers fragrant berries, layered florals, and honey sweetness at a wallet-friendly price - the perfect everyday bean for your summer cold brew ritual.