Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz pushes for innovation in store layout and coffee production

Starbucks executives, including CEO Howard Schultz, are reportedly rethinking store designs and how the company's drinks are made as part of an overall innovation plan.

影片文字轉錄稿

[AUDIO LOGO]

SEANA SMITH: Pumpkin spice latte, it's only been back at Starbucks for a day but the chain is already looking at making bigger, broader changes. Now, the "Wall Street Journal" reporting that the coffee giant and CEO Howard Schultz are rethinking, quote, "everything," including how to make frappuccinos. The company has come under significant pressure due to the unionization push, higher costs, and an inability to keep up with consumer demand.

So far this year, the stock down just over 27%. Dave, it's a tough time, maybe, to be laying out some of these changes that the "Wall Street Journal" apparently reports that Starbucks is considering because of those higher prices cutting in to their profit margins. But a lot of this centered on how quick and how easy it is for a barista to make coffee. And the steps that they outlined in the "Journal" article really highlighted why it takes so long and why your waiting sometimes 10 minutes for your cup of coffee.

DAVE BRIGGS: They're not going to change the formula so don't go messing with my caramel frappuccino. But yeah, the efficiency seems to be at the heart of these changes. And any new store, Howard Schultz has said, they are going to design from scratch, from the ground up.

So you know, first, when I read this story in "The Journal," I thought, all right, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. But then when you read the stor-- when you step back and think about the story of the day, which is Bed Bath & Beyond, too late to make the pivot. You really have to applaud Howard Schultz's leadership here because they are doing this from a position of strength, making those changes when things are good. You have to applaud the interim CEO right now, because they're in a position where they can make these changes and not hurt themselves at all.

They did find some numbers that said one out of four employees are planning to quit in the next 90 days. That is up from one in 10. So they really are trying to find ways to make these workers' lives easier. Of course, what those workers want is better conditions, more pay, and better perks. But this, hopefully, tinkers around the edges, Rachelle.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: I mean, you have to think, some of these stores that were designed about a decade ago. Like, some of the cafes, they were saying, that we're supposed to be averaging 1,200 orders a day are now making 1,500 orders a day. In fact, they visited one East Coast cafe, at one point, they were averaging a million dollars in annual sales.

That's now $3 million they're ringing up. And still in that same space where they're having to run back and forth but with so much more demand, especially ever since Starbucks really started focusing on to-go aspect of its business when the pandemic came, when people couldn't sit and relax and it was all about the to-go business. And then you think about the app as well. So clearly, they have a lot of changes and they're trying to meet those consumer needs, as you mentioned there, Dave.