Laxman Narasimhan hosted Starbucks’ 31st Annual Meeting of Shareholders virtually on 23 March on his fourth day as Starbucks CEO.
Narasimhan says that to keep closely connected to the culture and customers, as well as the challenges and opportunities within retail stores, he plans to work in stores for a half day each month and expects his leadership team will stay closely connected to the frontline experience as well.
“We have limitless potential, but we need to address what limits us,” says Narasimhan. “Our performance is strong, but our health needs to be stronger. We strive to be a different kind of company, and that is unchanged. But we now operate in a different kind of world,” says Narasimhan.
Starbucks shared that with the reinvention plan underway comes a continued investment in partner wages and store operations, and leadership will continue to directly engage with retail partners for guidance.
This past fiscal year Starbucks invested more than $1 billion in wages and training, bringing the average hourly pay at Starbucks to nearly $17.50 per hour nationally and with a range of $15 to $23 per hour.
In addition, as a part of the reinvention plan, Starbucks recently completed the rollout of digital tipping across all eligible stores, giving customers more ways to show their appreciation to partners.
“At Starbucks, it’s always been our mission to create human connection over a cup of coffee. And I believe even after 50 years, we’ve only scratched the surface. The work of the refounding of Starbucks is well underway. With every cup, with every conversation, with every community, we nurture the limitless possibilities of human connection,” says Narasimhan.
Starbucks leadership emphasised the importance of the company using its scale for good, being open-minded to new ways of doing business, continuing to innovate the partner experience and uplifting communities around the world.
For more information, visit the Starbucks website.
