Appointed on August 13th in the middle of summer, Brian Niccol officially takes the reins of Starbucks this Monday, September 9th. With the American leader who has just celebrated his 50th birthday, the global coffee giant wants to open a new era. This choice has not failed to fuel controversy due to the place of residence of the new company leader. Brian Niccol lives in Newport Beach, a town south of Los Angeles located 1,600 kilometers from Seattle, where Starbucks is headquartered. The terms of the contract stipulate that the new CEO is “not required to move near the company’s headquarters”, but that he must “agree to commute” every week.
For greater efficiency, the fifty-year-old will be able to use the jet provided by the company for his travels between Newport Beach and Seattle, a 3-hour flight. A choice that makes some people grind their teeth, especially for a company that makes a point of greening its image by aiming to halve its carbon footprint by 2030 and increase the number of greener stores around the world.
It comes in a hot context
It’s not just coffee that’s hot at Starbucks right now. Behind the facade of paper cups with the name mangled half the time, the global coffee giant founded in 1971 is facing a drop in traffic that is weighing on its turnover. In the first three months of the year, sales “fell by 4% and traffic by 6%, with catastrophic results in China, where competition is fierce, as well as in the United States,” describes Le Monde. Accused of supporting Israel, the brand is also suffering the backlash of calls for a boycott on social networks almost a year after the start of the war in Gaza. The company has always denied taking any pro-Israeli stance: “Despite the false statements spread on social networks, we have no political agenda. We do not use our profits to finance government or military operations, anywhere and we never have.”
The appointment of Brian Niccol, armed to face critical situations, is not a coincidence. His roadmap is simple: to put Starbucks back on the path to success.
He has already turned around a struggling company.
To get things back on track, the American coffee shop chain didn’t hesitate to appoint an experienced man with experience in the fast-food industry. Starbucks’ new captain got Chipotle, a Mexican grill chain shaken by food scandals, back on track as soon as he arrived in 2018. In the midst of a crisis, the boss imposed new safety protocols, modernized the chain’s ordering system, introduced new ingredients and opened new sites. The results were spectacular.
READ ALSO >> Starbucks barista fired for making ‘Blue Lives Matter’ drink with bleach
Under his leadership, the American fast food chain, specializing in Tex-Mex cuisine, saw its profits “multiplied by seven” and revenues “nearly doubled” according to Starbucks, delighted to have poached this boss with a brilliant CV. The share price also “increased by almost 800%” during his presidency. These dizzying figures were also achieved by “increasing salaries” and “expanding social benefits” for employees.
To achieve his goals at Starbucks, Brian Niccol will have to repeat this feat and work with the Workers United union to develop a collective agreement. “The main topics of the discussions concern salaries, vacations, schedules and staff shortages, health and safety aspects as well as access to care,” reports BFMTV.
A brilliant career and an XXL salary
Before leading Chipotle, this engineering graduate was not idle and held various strategic positions in fast food companies. He was notably CEO of Taco Bell and worked as head of marketing and innovation. The new boss of Starbucks was also a member of the management of Pizza Hut, a subsidiary of the Yum! Brands group, and spent a decade at the consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble (Pampers, Ariel, Gillette, Mr. Clean, etc.) at the beginning of his career.
Knighted by the former iconic boss of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, Brian Niccol succeeds Laxman Narasimhan, designated culprit of the brand’s difficulties. According to figures revealed by the Financial Times, Brian Niccol could become one of the highest paid business leaders in the United States with an annual salary of nearly $113 million. Proof that Starbuck was ready to do anything to poach him, his predecessor pocketed $28 million in 2022. That is four times less than Niccol.
