Starbucks reflects the American genius for creating legends: that of a coffee as good as Italy's, and that of a country where the service is excellent. Any French person living in the US knows that service there is abysmal, and even American consumers have noticed it, thanks to waiting in line, being mistreated by unfriendly employees and waiting an eternity for their burning cardboard coffee cup. Added to this are orders placed via smartphone, which overwhelm employees and make the Starbucks "experience" unbearable.

As a result, in the first quarter of 2024, sales per store fell by 4% and footfall by 6%, with catastrophic results in China, where competition is fierce, as well as in the US. It's hard to cite the "bad perception" about the company's pro-Israel stance, as was done at the end of 2023, even though it weighs heavily in the Middle East: Something was definitely broken at Starbucks, whose shares then fell by 12%. "Many customers have been more exacting about where and how they choose to spend their money," conceded the group's then-CEO Laxman Narasimhan.

Company founder Howard Schultz, from atop his commander statue, then led the charge on LinkedIn: "The stores require a maniacal focus on the customer experience," he wrote, adding that "leaders must model both humility and confidence as they work to restore trust."

Unfortunately, the second-quarter results published on July 30 were once again poor. Two consecutive quarters of disappointment: Underperformance is hard to forgive in the US. Activists took stakes in the company's capital to demand restructuring. On Tuesday, August 12, Narasimhan was abruptly dismissed after only 16 months as CEO.

He was replaced by Brian Niccol, head of the fast-food chain Chipotle, which specializes in Tex-Mex cuisine, and shares soared by 25% on Wall Street, boosting Starbucks' capitalization by $20 billion (€18.2 billion). It now stands at $106 billion. The Wall Street Journal wrote a long article explaining "why the new Starbucks CEO is worth $20 billion."

Niccol, 50, worked wonders to get a failing Chipotle back on its feet, after hundreds of customers got food poisoning and federal charges led to a $25 million fine. The press has described him as an ultra detail-oriented man who orders half the menu when he visits his restaurants to inspect the food. Since he took the helm in 2018, Chipotle's value has risen sevenfold, while that of Starbucks has gone up by less than 30%. Upon his departure, investors predictably sent Chipotle shares down 7.5% on the stock market.

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