Starbucks’ new chief, Brian Niccol, is finding out the hard way that latte loyalty only goes so far when prices keep climbing. After a year of slumping sales and frustrated customers, the man once hailed as the architect of Chipotle’s comeback is now trying to rescue the world’s most famous coffee brand from its self-inflicted caffeine crash.
But one statement Niccol just made about Starbucks pricing has McDonald’s executives grinning from ear to ear.
A Crisis Brewing at Starbucks
When Niccol stepped into the corner office in September 2024, he inherited a mess. Starbucks’ revenue had fallen for the first time in four years, its stock was in freefall, and customers were complaining that six-dollar lattes and long lines weren’t worth the wait.
Niccol was supposed to be the fix. He earned his reputation by taking Chipotle from food-safety disaster to Wall Street darling, nearly doubling its revenue and sending its stock soaring 800 percent. At Taco Bell, he had turned a fast-food punchline into a digital-marketing juggernaut that added 2,000 restaurants.
Now, investors are praying he can work the same magic for Starbucks.
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