Another Indian, Laxmi Narasimhan has been chosen to be the CEO of the world-famous coffee chain, Starbucks Corporation. Narasimhan had earlier served as the CEO of Reckitt, Enfamil baby formula, and Mucinex cold syrup.
Facing a turbulent situation now, more than 200 outlets of Starbucks in the US have been unionized in the past year with workers demanding better benefits and wages at a time of surging inflation. Further, COVID-19 restrictions in China have slowed down the US coffee chains' business in one of its biggest overseas markets. The company is also reworking its business model.
Reportedly, Starbucks is planning to shift its focus from a café to a mobile pickup and delivery in spite of facing higher costs for ingredients and labour.
Laxmi Narasimhan shall join Starbucks in October 2022 but will be holding the reins in April 2022 after spending a few months improving his knowledge about the corporation. The "reinvention plan shall include paying better wages for baristas, improving employees" welfare and customer experience, and re-imagining stories.
Until then, interim CEO Howard Schultz shall continue to lead the company. Schultz managed the company three times in April after Kevin Johnson retired. He, in a letter to the employees welcoming Narasimhan Schultz, remarked, “He is a strategic and transformational leader with deep experience in building powerful consumer brands”.
Starbucks said Narasimhan will spend his time with Schultz and the management team, spending time as a barista, meeting employees, and visiting manufacturing plants and coffee farms during the transition period.
Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roaster reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and is the world’s largest coffeehouse chain. In India, it is managed by the Tata Groups in India. It has opened its outlet for customers in Guwahati. One outlet is situated on GS Road. Guwahati in 2021.
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