Starbucks plans revitalization after being hit by Gaza boycott | Economy

After the popular boycott supporting the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip affected its sales, the new CEO of the American Starbucks coffee chain, Brian Nichol, presented alternative operational and marketing plans for the company to revitalize it.

According to Nikola’s proposal, Starbucks will focus on the US market to avoid the damage it suffered as a result of the decline in sales in the previous period.

The Wall Street Journal quoted Nicole as saying that he intends to learn more about the company’s 80 global markets.

Starbucks’ popularity and the demand for its cafes in many countries, especially in Arab and Islamic countries, have been affected by the company’s support for Israel in the aggression it has been waging on Gaza for about a year.

Last April, Starbucks announced its first quarterly sales decline in four years, falling 2% to about $8.5 billion.

The new CEO pledged to make coffee shops “sexy” again, saying there was a feeling “that we have strayed from our core” and that the focus would be on the US market.

Nicol took over on Monday, weeks after the company’s board ousted former CEO Lakshman Narasimhan, whose 18-month tenure was marked by declining sales and an identity crisis.

Starbucks could grow in regions such as the Middle East, where he would work to “dispel misconceptions” about the brand, which has become a target of boycotts over its perceived stance in Israel’s war on Gaza, Nicola said.

Starbucks shares fell 12% in May trading.

While the company laid off about 4% of its total workforce of about 50,000 people earlier this year, the layoffs were mostly concentrated in Starbucks branches in the Middle East and North Africa.

Starbucks also faces increasing competition in the Chinese market from lower-cost rivals, further complicating the company’s challenges.