Starbucks Shares React As New CEO Brian Niccol Looks To Shake Up The Coffee Chain Amid Fall In Sales

Starbucks is the world's largest coffee chain, with a presence all around the globe. The company recently added 722 new stores, taking its tally from 38,137 cafes or outlets to 40,199 globally.

Even in India, the company has a sizeable presence, as it runs its stores in partnership with Tata Group or Tata Alliance.

Starbucks Sales Dip

Despite its size and name, the brand has struggled in the past and has had to shuffle its management in order to find the right rhythm. The most recent change came to pass when Indian-origin executive Laxman Narasimhan was shown the door and Chipotle's Brian Niccol was brought in to take the reigns.

Niccol recently oversaw his first earnings call and as per 'expectations', the company's struggles continued as the sales numbers fell below estimates.

The company's revenue dipped to USD 9.1 billion for Q4, which marked a 3 per cent decline in year-over-year trade. These numbers, as mentioned before, fell short of analyst estimates of USD 9.375 billion.

In addition, Starbucks' global sales plummeted 7 per cent. In North America, sales dipped by 6 per cent.

Plans To Turnaround Fortunes

This has pushed the new boss, Brian Niccol, to take some radical steps to turn the fortune around.

It is being reported that the Niccol-led coffee chain is going to bring about a change to its famed and somehow infamously complicated menu. This is because many observers have often pointed at Starbucks' expansive and complicated catalogue of coffees as one of the reasons behind its slowdown.

For a Human Touch

As it has often been seen as cumbersome and something that is logistically difficult.

In addition, the company, in order to being 'additional 'Human Touch' also intends to bring about changes to its atmosphere and customer service. This includes buying 200,000 Sharpie markers so that employees can write personalised messages on the coffee cups.

In addition, the company will also be removing olive oil coffee drinks. Along with that, the company will also not charge extra for non-dairy milk.

Starbucks Shares

Meanwhile, the company is having a relatively green period. The Starbucks Corp. shares listed on Nasdaq have risen 0.43 per cent or USD 0.42, in the past 5 trading sessions.

In fact, in Thursday's intraday trading session, the company shares increased in value by 0.39 per cent or USD 0.38, taking the overall number of shares to USD 97.70. This is far lower than the 52-week high of USD 107.66 per piece.