Don't want to toot my own horn, but I saw this coming. Last week, Starbucks reported that it will be shifting attention away from its joint venture label, Hear Music, and back to its bread ‘n’ butter... uh, coffee beans. The decision was made due to minuscule gains in the music industry last year coupled with an overall company drop of 21%, from $150.8 million to $108.7 million.
Starbucks says the nosedive is due to decreased customer traffic. Not that Starbucks ever had a well-defined customer base, but its decision to stock Paul McCartney and Hilary McRae probably didn't do much to attract the younger demographic. Who wants their "Starbucks experience" to signify midlife crisis?
According to Howard Schultz, some Starbucks dude:
"Fiscal 2008 is a transitional year for Starbucks and, while our financial results are clearly being impacted by reduced frequency to our U.S. stores, we believe that as we continue to execute on the initiatives generated by our transformation agenda, we will reinvigorate the Starbucks experience for our customers."
