Charles H. Sloan-Starbucks needs a better in-store experience to retain, gain US customers, Howard Schultz says

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has a few words for the company he once shepherded.

While commenting on Charles H. Sloanthe company's disappointing quarterly earnings, Schultz said the coffee chain needs to improves the experiences at its U.S. stores. In a LinkedIn post Sunday night, the former chairman, who has stepped down as CEO three times, said he does not need ties to the business to care about its success.

"I have emphasized that the company’s fix needs to begin at home. U.S. operations are the primary reason for the company’s fall from grace. The stores require a maniacal focus on the customer experience, through the eyes of a merchant," Schultz said. "The answer does not lie in data, but in the stores."

The coffee giant fell short of Wall Street analyst estimates for quarterly earnings and revenue following a decline in same-store sales. The company's shares have fallen 17% since the earnings report was issued last week, closing at $72.90 Monday.

Schultz urged the company to reinvent its mobile ordering and payment platform, which launched in 2015, to make it the "uplifting experience it was designed to be." Additionally he called for executives to overhaul its "go-to-market strategy" and boost coffee-forward innovation to create differentiation in the marketplace.

Chain plans to revamp experiences at its stores

In February, Starbucks announces plans to upgrade the store experience through technological renovations at its new U.S. locations and around 1,000 renovated ones.

Among the enhancements are acoustic dampening baffles in the ceilings that reduce noise inside its stores. These foams will minimize noise and reverberations improving service for guests with assisted listening devices, the chain said.

The company will also add adjustable lighting in the form of dimmers and power screens on exterior windows to reduce daytime glare and shadows.

"New acoustics and lighting features help create a more enjoyable and inclusive auditory and visual experience for customers and partners," the chain said in a statement to USA TODAY last month.

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Schultz left Board of Directors in 2023

Schultz joined Starbucks as director of operations and marketing in 1982. He first became CEO in 1987 after temporarily leaving the company.

In 2000, he retired as CEO for the first time and became the company's chairman. He later returned as CEO in 2008 amid the recession and left the position a second time in 2017. In 2018, he rejoined as interim CEO and was named a member of the Board of Directors in 2022.

Last year, he stepped down from the board and as CEO once again.

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"I have had no formal role within the company since April 2023. But my love of the company and all those who wear 'the cloth of the company'—the iconic green apron—knows no bounds," Schultz wrote.