The name of Starbucks, the famous chain of coffee shops with more than 38,000 locations around the world, has its roots in an adventure novel, Moby Dick, where Starbuck (no 's' at the end) is one of the characters that accompanies Commander Ahab, in search of the famous whale.

That sense of adventure has always accompanied Starbucks, the coffeehouse brand, since its creation in 1971, and that is how Brian Niccol, who will take the reins of the company as of September 9, must understand it; it will be quite an adventure.

The initial adventure is to arrange the commute: Niccol will have to travel more than 1,000 miles from Newport Beach (Cal.), where he and his family live, to Seattle, the headquarters of Starbucks.

As BBC has reported, The new CEO has been the target of criticism: some of his followers on social media have claimed that his quiet and good way of life has an environmental impact; he has to use a private aircraft of the company to go from his home to his office.

It isn’t the most important issue Niccol has to manage.

Revenue problem

The company posted sales of $36 billion last year, up 12% from 2022. It is therefore difficult to explain what happened during these first eight months of 2024, as the share price fell from a high of $107.21 in November 2023 to a low of $72.75 last July. The most critical point came on May 1, when the share price plummeted following the announcement of a cut in the company's forecasts due to slowing demand and the impact of inflation on the company's production costs.

From this perspective, a change in management was inevitable, considering that last June the drop in net profit was already around 8%.

Niccol comes to the company with the enormous challenge of turning around the indicators; he has already achieved this, although he has not even taken office: Starbucks' share price recovered much of the lost ground and now trades close to $95. 

The optimism about the appointment is backed up: Niccol leaves Chipotle, a company he led for 6 years, with a whole system of profit generation and annual revenue growth. During his tenure, the company's sales grew from $5.6 billion to $9.9 billion, with double-digit annual increases in most years of his administration.

According to the statement issued by the company to announce the news, Niccol has focused during his tenure at Chipotle on people management and organizational culture. On the other hand, he has set his sights on branding, menu innovation, operational excellence and the digital transformation of that company.

Now, upon learning of his appointment at Starbucks, Niccol said, “I am thrilled to join Starbucks and grateful for the opportunity to help lead this incredible company, along with hundreds of thousands of dedicated partners. I have long admired Starbucks' iconic brand, unique culture and commitment to improving human connections around the world. As I embark on this journey, I am motivated by the tremendous potential to drive growth and further enhance the Starbucks experience for our customers and partners, while staying true to our mission and values.”

Niccol's Starbucks story has already begun and the adventure continues amid choppy waters. The ship is now in his hands.