Dec. 1, 2010 at 5:16 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Packaged foods,
Restaurants
By Associated Press
Starbucks provided only limited updates Wednesday on its dispute with Kraft Foods Inc., but did say it has been dissatisfied with Kraft for a while and claimed Kraft has failed to effectively work with Starbucks or promote its products.
The two companies entered arbitration after Starbucks announced it wanted to end a 12-year agreement under which Kraft distributes and promotes packaged Starbucks coffee in stores.
Kraft has said the agreement has been mutually beneficial and that it has helped deliver major gains for Starbucks. A Kraft spokesman said Wednesday that the companies’ dispute centers on how Starbucks will take over Kraft’s responsibilities and end the contract. Get the full story »
Dec. 1, 2010 at 2:20 p.m.
Filed under:
Economy,
Food,
Investing
By Reuters
Starbucks Corp. Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz decried the commodity market on Wednesday, saying financial speculators, not product shortages, were to blame for recent price spikes in coffee.
“I think it’s tragic…that coffee prices are at these levels,” Schultz told analysts and investors gathered in New York. “There is no evidence whatsoever that we can see that there’s any supply or demand (issue).” Get the full story »
Dec. 1, 2010 at 9:27 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Packaged foods,
Retail
By Reuters
Starbucks is prepared to make acquisitions to help accelerate sales of bagged coffee and other consumer products beyond its cafes, Chief Executive Howard Schultz told investors on Wednesday.
The brass at Starbucks Corp says the consumer packaged goods business should grow faster than the company’s retail cafes, which total 17,000 globally.
But Wall Street wants specifics on how it will accomplish that goal, particularly as it works through a messy break-up with Kraft Foods Inc, which has handled sales of Starbucks packaged coffee and tea in supermarkets and club stores since 1998. Speaking at the company’s investor meeting in New York, Schultz said the Seattle-based coffee giant was prepared to buy small and large companies that would help expand its selection of consumer products. Starbucks shares rose 3.3 percent in morning trading. Get the full story »
Nov. 30, 2010 at 9:56 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Retail
By Associated Press
A product image provided by Starbucks showing the company's new line of Seattle's Best Coffee. (AP Photo/Starbucks Corp.)
Starbucks Corp. wants to appeal a bit more to the average Joe.
This week, the company will roll out a new line of its Seattle’s Best Coffee to be sold at grocery stores and other retailers. It has a lighter taste and simpler selling approach that it hopes will attract coffee drinkers that Starbucks may have left behind.
The coffee giant acquired Seattle’s Best about seven years ago. Until recently, has let the brand sit quietly on the sidelines. But as competition for coffee drinkers has increased, Starbucks is looking to it for growth. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 4:10 p.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Packaged foods,
Updated
By Reuters
Starbucks Corp. and Kraft Foods began airing a messy divorce in public Monday, fighting over the dissolution of their partnership selling bags of Starbucks coffee at supermarkets.
Kraft said it had launched arbitration proceedings to challenge Starbucks’ attempt to end the agreement, sending shares of both companies lower.
At stake for Kraft is a partnership with $500 million in annual sales and strong profit margins. Starbucks may have to pay more than $1 billion to buy back the business and run it, a risky move for a company known for operating coffee shops, not selling packaged goods. Get the full story »
Nov. 29, 2010 at 8:09 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
International,
Packaged foods
By Reuters
Sara Lee Corp. said Monday it agreed to buy Cafe Damasco, a small Brazilian coffee company, for roughly $60 million as it looks to strengthen its position in South America’s largest country. Cafe Damasco has a leading position in the southern Brazilian state of Parana, and 2009 net sales of about $60 million. Get the full story »
Nov. 16, 2010 at 11:44 a.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By Emily Bryson York
With Thanksgiving just a week away, it’s starting to look like a lot like Christmas. The Cook County Building turned on red and green lights in its lobby, and Starbucks has broken out red cups, peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes.
Customers in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles are getting a little something extra today — a hand with holiday cards. Starbucks is sponsoring photo booths until 5 p.m. today where customers can line up for a free personalized holiday postcard, with a buy-one-get-one-free offer for friends and family.
Starbucks’ holiday pushes are particularly significant for the coffee chain’s business, as it identifies its sales more closely with retail, rather than the fast food industry. Many of the chain’s stores are also located at or near malls, and holiday traffic has often been a boon for the chain. Get the full story »
Nov. 16, 2010 at 5:55 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food
By Reuters
Sara Lee Corp. will not rush to make acquisitions in the U.S. coffee market, even as it revamps its business to focus on coffee and meat, its interim chief executive said.
Speculation about deals in the U.S. coffee business has circulated since earlier this month when Starbucks Corp said it wanted to end its distribution deal with Kraft Foods Inc, which has sold bagged Starbucks coffee at supermarkets for the past 12 years. Get the full story »
Nov. 12, 2010 at 6:08 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food
By Dow Jones Newswires
Starbucks Corp. plans to launch coffee machines in the U.S. to ensure growth in the consumer packaged goods market.
The Seattle-based coffee chain is looking to expand its presence in the U.S. consumer packaged goods arena and will sell single-service coffee machines and instant coffee pods to accompany them, Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz said in an interview Friday. The timeline for the product’s rollout hasn’t yet been determined, Schultz said. Get the full story »
Nov. 5, 2010 at 11:54 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Retail,
Updated
By Emily Bryson York
(Charles Osgood/Chicago Tribune)
Kraft is apparently steamed by Starbucks’ announcement that it plans to fire the company as its grocery store distributor.
On Thursday night, Kraft Foods Inc. said its agreement to supply packaged Starbucks coffee to grocery stores “is perpetual…if Starbucks decides to exit its relationship with Kraft Foods, the agreement requires Starbucks to pay Kraft Foods the fair market value of the business plus, in certain instances, a premium.”
Starbucks fired back today with a company statement saying, “We consider it unfortunate that Kraft has chosen to make public statements that we believe mischaracterize the nature of the agreement between our companies, including the term of the agreement.” The statement went on to note that the companies’ agreement contains a clause for the resolution of disputes. Both companies maintain that regardless of how their relationship is terminated, customers shouldn’t expect service interruptions.
Get the full story »
Nov. 5, 2010 at 11:26 a.m.
Filed under:
Earnings,
Food,
Stock activity
By Reuters
Kraft Foods Inc. shares fell 2.4 percent on Friday, a day after the packaged foods company said its 2011 forecast included an extra week.
The maker of Maxwell House coffee, Cadbury chocolate and Velveeta cheese also said that Starbucks wants to end the companies’ 12-year-old deal whereby Kraft sells packaged Starbucks coffee. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 4:44 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Packaged foods
By Reuters
Starbucks Corp. informed Kraft Foods Inc. that it plans to end a more-than-a-decade-old deal under which Kraft distributes packaged Starbucks coffee to stores and other outlets.
Kraft, which also surprised Wall Street with its profit report, said it was too early to say what the impact of the lost agreement would be on its results. “We know this has been on their minds, but we haven’t entered into any specific conversations about the when or the why or the how,” said Kraft Chief Financial Officer Tim McLevish on a conference call with analysts. Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 3:49 p.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Restaurants,
Retail
By Associated Press
Starbucks says its fourth-quarter net income nearly doubled as revenue spiked, beating analyst estimates, and it raised its targets for fiscal 2011.
Nov. 4, 2010 at 10:23 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Jobs/employment,
Layoffs,
Management
By Reuters
(Reuters)
Four years ago, generous benefits and opportunities for advancement convinced Leigh Swanson to use her new master’s degree in human resources to manage a Starbucks cafe. She called it one of the best workplaces she had ever experienced.
Then, in 2007, with the coffee chain in the midst of a building binge, the worst downturn since the Great Depression hit, hammering Starbucks’ bottom line. Sharp cost-cuts, the introduction of corporate efficiency tools like scheduling software and an increased emphasis on pushing product sales have helped the company return to record profitability.
They also led Swanson to quit in May. The disappearing perks and the financial fixes dampened her enthusiasm for recruiting potential new partners, as Starbucks calls its employees. “I found it really sad. I was really invested,” said Swanson, who was in charge of a Starbucks in the Florida Panhandle. “I just didn’t feel proud anymore. I wasn’t in it to manage a McDonald’s.” Get the full story »
Nov. 4, 2010 at 6:04 a.m.
Filed under:
Beverages,
Food,
Restaurants
By Associated Press
Burger King is looking to put some pep into its new breakfast push by giving out free cups of coffee every Friday morning this month. The goal is to promote the company’s new breakfast menu, which rolled out in September. The company launched a major marketing blitz, with the aim of eating up some of McDonald’s market-leading morning business. Get the full story »
