Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol Reportedly Sees Green Shoots Of Recovery A Year After He Took Over

Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) CEO Brian Niccol has reportedly said that he is seeing green shoots of growth and recovery at the multinational chain of coffeehouses and roasteries.

In an interview with CNBC on Tuesday, Niccol highlighted that the biggest change he has seen in the past year, since taking over as CEO, is the return of Starbucks to being a customer service-oriented organization.

Starbucks’ shares were down 0.4% in Tuesday’s opening trade. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company trended in the ‘bearish’ territory.

“About a year ago, when I rolled out the idea of ‘Back to Starbucks,’ we said we were going to get back to a customer service organization that could deliver great experiences in a timely manner. I think that’s exactly what we’ve accomplished,” Niccol said in the interview.

He underscored that this change is visible throughout the experience at Starbucks coffeehouses, right from the condiments bar to behind-the-scenes changes like the “smart cue” technology. “The most visible [changes], I believe, are our partners, where we’ve been able to invest in incremental hours, which allows for bigger rosters for more partners to be deployed in the right place at the right time,” Niccol added.

Niccol was named Starbucks CEO in August 2024, following his stints as the chief of Yum Brands Inc.’s (YUM) Taco Bell and Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG). While his first year as Starbucks' chief has seen a continued shrinking of same-store sales and traffic, Niccol remains optimistic.

“What we’re really excited about is we’re seeing both non-Rewards customers come back in a big way, as well as Rewards customers. That is, to me, the sign that we’re doing the right things, both in the store and outside of the store,” Niccol said in the interview.

SBUX stock is down 8% year-to-date and 9% over the past 12 months.

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