On Monday, Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) issued a press release announcing that Launi Skinner had resigned as president of Starbucks Coffee U.S "to spend more time with her husband and two daughters."
COO Martin Coles said that "We are very sorry to see Launi go, but we know that her legacy at Starbucks is strong and that we are a better company thanks to her passion, commitment and leadership."
There's just one problem: Ms. Skinner assumed the position in July of 2007. So essentially, we have to believe that this ambitious executive signed on to a hugely important position and then, eight months later, decided that she wanted to spend more time with her family. Is that even remotely believable?
Given the company's well-publicized problems, it's easy to understand why Starbucks made a change. Things got so ugly that Howard Schultz had assume the title of CEO again -- after an eight-year retirement to the title of chairman. If Starbucks can't just say "We decided it was time to make a change," they at least need to come up with an excuse that's more believable than "eight months after getting the job, she decided she wanted to be with her family more, and no, our poor results were not a factor."
How dumb does Starbucks think its shareholders are?
Can Starbucks come up with a believable excuse for management changes?
Posted Mar 4th 2008 4:08PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Management, Starbucks (SBUX)
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-04-2008 @ 4:58PM
Wily said...
Howard is doing everything but pulling rabbits out of his butt. Expensive coffee? That requires a huge volume? In a shrinking economy? You can put GPS on his tail but...that dog don't hunt.
3-08-2008 @ 5:06PM
lonestar said...
You've all got it wrong. With all due respect, this has nothiong to do with the economy. SBUX is trending down because they lost hold of their own values from the 90's that allowed them to grow. Now, only re-treds from Mcdonalds or Marriot are employed with SBUX.