Ahead of Starbucks’ Q3 earnings call in July, CEO Brian Niccol’s grande Americano (with an extra shot) arrived with a message scrawled in Sharpie: “You got this.”
The baristas near the company’s Seattle headquarters naturally know his name, but every now and then he gets a note, a gesture that skeptics might consider a nice touch for the big boss.
“But I don’t think so,” Niccol told ADWEEK.
He instead views it as a small sign that Back to Starbucks, the plan he launched in 2024 to restore the coffeehouse experience and get customers to return, is working.
After 1,000 store refurbs, a leaner menu, a revamped loyalty program, a marketing reset, and more than $500 million spent on smarter shift scheduling and putting more staff on shop floors during peak hours, Niccol wrote an open letter to employees in September.
