Case Study

'Big Fix' at Starbucks: Will customers come back? The new CEO's first year

14 pages
March 2026
Reference: IMD-2687

In September 2024, Starbucks’ then-CEO was abruptly fired after 17 months in the role; the decision followed three quarterly drops in consumer traffic and declining operating revenues. The board then turned to Brian Niccol, a veteran fast-food company executive. Niccol was deemed highly qualified due to his turnaround of two fast-food chains, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Taco Bell. Starbucks was struggling in its two largest markets, the United States and China, which together accounted for 83% of the company’s global $36.2 billion in sales. In both markets, customer orders and same-store sales had declined. Niccol’s first year was a difficult one, raising questions about his strategy and tactics. The disappointed investors were selling out…

Learning Objective
  • Navigating a leading global company amidst rapidly changing markets
  • Examining the range of turnaround strategies: from executing incremental change to departing from the past with Big Bold strategies
  • Innovating to delight customers and stay ahead of competition
  • Understanding leadership challenges of driving change in a complex and complacent global organization
  • Handling the interests of diverse stakeholders: employees, the board, investors and environmental activists
Keywords
Strategy, Marketing, Leadership
Settings
World/global
Starbucks, Consumer Goods, Coffee
2024-2026
Type
Published Sources
Copyright
© 2026
Available Languages
English
Related material
Teaching note
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