It was a shocking announcement this morning from Starbucks early Tuesday after the ailing coffee chain announced Chipotle (CMG) chairman and CEO Brian Niccol will become its next CEO, effective Sept. 9.
Niccol will assume the position from Lax Narasimhan, who was on the job for less than 18 months.
Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi has the inside scoop:
Starbucks is currently an icon in crisis. Don’t believe me? Let’s review the facts.
First, the company’s financial results and share price have been dreadful.
Its most recent quarter showed a 6% drop in North America transactions as consumers shunned the chain’s ever-pricier coffees and long wait times.
International sales tanked 7%. Chinese comparable sales plunged 14%, spurring execs to say on the earnings call it’s exploring strategic options for the business. Non-GAAP operating profits declined to 16.7% from 17.4%.
The company’s…
