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In the largest shareholder meeting in company history, Starbucks
celebrates transformative year in fiscal 2018, highlighted by double
digit growth in topline revenue of $24.7 billion, up 10% over the
prior year; reaffirms ongoing growth algorithm of consolidated revenue
growth of 7% to 9% and non-GAAP earnings per share growth of at least
10%.
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Company unveils plans to modernize the Starbucks Experience with a
focus on three key attributes: convenience, comfort and connection.
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Announced $100 million cornerstone investment in Valor Siren Ventures
to accelerate innovation in “new retail.”
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With a focus on disciplined growth in U.S. and China, Starbucks
celebrates the 30,000th store opening.
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Reaffirming its commitment to remain a company that believes in the
pursuit of doing good, Starbucks announced it maintained equity in pay
for race and gender in the U.S. for the second consecutive year and
verified gender equity in pay in China and Canada.
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Company demonstrates latest innovations in sustainable coffee: further
reduction of straws; greener cups; and digitally traceable coffee that
shows the journey from bean to cup.
SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX) today will host its 27th Annual
Meeting of Shareholders, with nearly 4,000 shareholders, partners
(employees), invited guests and board members in attendance. Key
presenters at the meeting will include Kevin Johnson, president and
chief executive officer of Starbucks; Roz Brewer, Americas group
president and chief operating officer; Patrick Grismer, executive vice
president and chief financial officer; and Michelle Burns, senior vice
president of Global Coffee & Tea.
Committed to honoring Starbucks heritage while setting the course to
creating an enduring company, Johnson and Starbucks leadership team will
set a vision for reimagining and reinventing the core areas of the Starbucks
Experience. Throughout the event, leaders will preview
differentiated and elevated customer and partner (employee) experiences.
In addition, the company will showcase opportunities where it is
uniquely positioned to serve as the catalyst for future “new retail”
innovations and announced commitments aimed to create meaningful
societal impact.
“Starbucks is a different kind of company – and we have been since our
founding,” Johnson said. “Our long-term plan for growth with focus and
discipline is built on the acknowledgement that the pursuit of profit is
not in conflict with the pursuit of doing good. We are a part of
millions of people’s everyday lives around the world, and I believe we
are uniquely positioned to be one of the most enduring brands of all
time.”
The Third Place: Reimagined
Brand endurance requires evolving with customer’s changing needs. To
that end, Brewer will reveal the company’s plans to reimagine the third
place, with a focus on three key attributes: convenience, comfort and
connection. Through this lens, Brewer will announce Starbucks will take
a phased approach to modernizing the customer experience across all key
touchpoints for customers, beginning this summer in New York City.
“I don’t want anyone to walk away today thinking this is about furniture
or a new renovation strategy,” said Brewer. “Reimagining the third place
is about listening to our customers, so we can better position our
business now and for the future.”
Through this approach, the company aims to learn directly from its
customers and adapt changes to new and better experiences using
technology, product innovation, in addition to new and reimagined store
formats. The company also will reiterate its commitment to the continued
expansion and evolution of programs like Starbucks Delivers® – now
available in 12 countries – and Starbucks Rewards.
“Our relationship with our customers starts the moment they think of
Starbucks. They connect with us through their barista and the quality of
what’s in the cup they take with them,” Brewer said. “Their third place
is everywhere they’re holding our cup. No matter their journey, after
leaving our stores, that feeling of comfort stays with them. And
in an increasingly busy and on-demand world, it’s that feeling that
keeps the third place growing.”
Starbucks Commits $100 Million as Cornerstone Investor in Valor Siren
Ventures
Furthering its efforts to focus on new ideas and technologies that are
relevant to customers, inspiring to partners (employees), and meaningful
to the Starbucks business, Starbucks announces today its pioneering
investment in the new Valor
Siren Ventures I L.P. (“VSV”).
This investment will serve as a catalyst for the next generation of food
and retail start-up companies. Managed by Valor Equity Partners, a
leading growth-focused private equity investment firm that was among the
first investors in food technology, the new fund will identify and
invest in companies who are developing technologies, products, and
solutions relating to food or retail. These verticals are increasingly
relevant to Starbucks as it seeks to support its world-class talent with
an innovation agenda accelerated by external relationships.
The Starbucks $100 million cornerstone commitment to VSV is the first of
its kind for the company, and the new fund will seek to raise an
additional $300 million in the coming months from other strategic
partners and key institutional investors.
“We believe that innovative ideas are fuel for the future, and we
continue to build on this heritage inside our company across beverage,
experiential retail, and our digital flywheel,” said Johnson. “At the
same time, and with an eye toward accelerating our innovation agenda, we
are inspired by, and want to support the creative, entrepreneurial
businesses of tomorrow with whom we may explore commercial relationships
down the road. This new partnership with Valor presents exciting
opportunities, not only for these startups, but also for Starbucks, as
we build an enduring company for decades to come.”
Delivering on Returns for Shareholders
On the heels of a fiscal year of unprecedented growth and revenues of
more than $24.7 billion, the company has returned $14 billion towards
its previously announced commitment to return $25 billion to
shareholders in the form of share buybacks and dividends over a
three-year period through fiscal 2020.
As part of this commitment, the company entered into a $2 billion
accelerated share repurchase program (ASR) of the Company’s common
stock. Initial delivery of shares represents approximately 80% of the
total shares estimated to be repurchased under the ASR, which is
expected to be completed no later than June 2019. The total shares
repurchased will be based on the volume weighted average share price
during the term of the ASR, less an agreed discount, and is subject to
certain adjustments under the agreements.
CREATING SOCIAL IMPACT GLOBALLY
For more than 48 years, the Starbucks brand has been fueled by both an
elevated customer experience and passionate, continual efforts to create
meaningful impact in the communities it serves.
That commitment isn’t more evident than in the company’s continued drive
towards a more sustainable Starbucks.
Greener Cups, Fewer Straws and Tracing Your Coffee’s Journey via
Starbucks® Mobile App
Burns will outline significant, collaborative progress and new plans on greener
cups, fewer straws and digitally tracing its coffee as Starbucks
works to support and empower coffee farmers and decrease
the company’s environmental footprint.
In addition, speakers will share progress related to supporting the
communities that host and sustain Starbucks® stores, and providing
pathways and opportunities to people.
Starbucks in the U.S. Maintains Equity in Pay for Race and Gender;
Starbucks in China and Canada Verify Gender Equity in Pay
At last year’s Annual Meeting of Shareholders, Starbucks announced 100%
pay equity in the U.S. for women, men and people of all races performing
similar work, as well as a commitment to achieve gender equity in pay
globally in all company-owned markets.
Today, Johnson will confirm Starbucks maintained pay equity in the U.S.
this year, and that China and Canada are the first international markets
to verify the fulfillment of the global commitment to gender equity in
pay.
Last year the company announced its Pay
Equity Principles – Equal Footing, Transparency and Accountability –
after drawing on its own experience to address systemic barriers to
gender equity in pay. China and Canada have joined the U.S. in
committing to these Pay Equity Principles and will continue to update
country-centric best practices to address challenges unique to each
market.
This global commitment has set a new bar for multinational companies.
The effort is supported by equal rights champion the Billie Jean King
Leadership Initiative (BJKLI) and leading national women’s
organizations, the National Partnership for Women & Families and the
American Association of University Women.
Creating More Opportunities
Other updates related to Starbucks efforts to create pathways for people
who face barriers to opportunity include the following:
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Veterans and Military Spouses: With 22,000 hires to date,
Starbucks is on track to well exceed its goal of 25,000 hires by 2025.
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Opportunity Youth: Starbucks is on track to meet its goal of
hiring 100,000 Opportunity Youth – defined by the U.S. Department of
Labor as 16-24-year-olds not in school or in the labor force – by
2020, with 75,000 hired so far.
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Partners in Pursuit of a Higher Education: The Starbucks
College Achievement Plan – a model for access to higher education for
employees in partnership with Arizona State University – has more than
12,000 scholars as of this year and more than 2,300 graduates since
its launch in 2014. Through the Starbucks College Achievement Plan,
partners earn a bachelor’s degree with tuition costs covered, without
a further commitment to Starbucks. The program’s goal is 25,000
graduates by 2025.
Supporting Communities Across the Globe
Starbucks other updates related to supporting its various communities
include the following:
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Increased Commitment to Ending Hunger: Starbucks is increasing
its commitment to ending hunger, particularly among children and
families, by investing $300,000 in Feeding America food bank mobile
pantry programs across the U.S. The company also marks a milestone of
15 million meal donations made since 2016 through its U.S. FoodShare
program. Worldwide, the company now has hunger-related donation
programs in Canada, the UK, Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands
with more planned expansion.
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Expansion of Efforts to Support Unsheltered Families in the Seattle
Area: Starbucks will be expanding its partnership with United Way
of King County in the coming year to support families experiencing
homelessness, and reported that the late 2018 crowd-funding effort for
the No Child Sleeps Outside campaign with Mary’s Place and other
partners raised $2.4 million in 45 days to help bring unsheltered
families inside and move them into permanent stable housing.
Starbucks Annual Meeting of Shareholders will begin at 10 a.m. PT today
and will be webcast and can be accessed at http://investor.starbucks.com.
A replay of the webcast will be available on the company’s website until
end of day Friday, September 20, 2019. Please visit https://stories.starbucks.com/
to find images, b-roll and live updates of the Annual Meeting of
Shareholders.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements contained herein are “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of the applicable securities laws and regulations.
Generally, these statements can be identified by the use of words such
as “anticipate,” “expect,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “feel,”
“forecast,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “project,” “should,”
“will,” “would,” and similar expressions intended to identify
forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements
contain these identifying words. These statements are based upon
information available to Starbucks as of the date hereof, and Starbucks
actual results or performance could different materially from those
stated or implied due to risks and uncertainties associated with its
business. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to,
fluctuations in U.S. and international economies and currencies, our
ability to preserve, grow and leverage our brands, potential negative
effects of incidents involving food or beverage-borne illnesses,
tampering, adulteration, contamination or mislabeling, potential
negative effects of material breaches of our information technology
systems to the extent we experience a material breach, material failures
of our information technology systems, costs associated with, and the
successful execution of, the company’s initiatives and plans, including
the integration of Starbucks Japan and East China business and the
successful execution of our Global Coffee Alliance with Nestle, the
acceptance of the company’s products by our customers, our ability to
obtain financing on acceptable terms, the impact of competition, the
prices and availability of coffee, dairy and other raw materials, the
effect of legal proceedings, the effects of changes in U.S. tax law and
related guidance and regulations that may be implemented, and other
risks detailed in the company filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including the “Risk Factors” section of the Starbucks Annual
Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2018. The
company assumes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking
statements.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Non‐GAAP measures included in our press release were not reconciled to
the comparable GAAP financial measures because the GAAP measures are not
accessible on a forward‐looking basis. The Company is unable to
reconcile these forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures to the most
directly comparable GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts because
the Company is currently unable to predict with a reasonable degree of
certainty the type and extent of certain items that would be expected to
impact GAAP measures for these periods but would not impact the non-GAAP
measures. Such items may include acquisition, divestitures,
restructurings and other items. The unavailable information could have a
significant impact on the Company’s GAAP financial results.
About Starbucks
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically
sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today,
with more than 30,000 stores around the globe, Starbucks is the premier
roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our
unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring
the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer
through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit our stores
or online at stories.starbucks.com
and Starbucks.com.
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Starbucks Coffee Company
press@starbucks.com
206-318-7100
Source: Starbucks Corporation