"Starbucks international drive on track"
And more from the Hambrecht & Quist confab
By Darren Chervitz, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 4:24 PM ET Jun 17, 1999
Starbucks (SBUX: news, msgs) Chief Financial Officer Michael Casey said the company is adding a store a week in Japan, with 40 of the 58 current stores generating $1 million in annual volume, compared to the $750,000 average of North American sites. Casey told the Hambrecht & Quist Branded Consumer Conference in Napa, Calif., on Thursday that 500 stores in the Pacific Rim by the year 2003, as well as 500 Starbucks in Europe. But Starbucks "will be disappointed" if the numbers aren't even higher than that, he noted. This year Starbucks is targeting earnings per share of 60-62 cents, same-store sales growth in the mid single digits, and an operating margin above 10 percent. The company's new revamped Net strategy will be launched in "the very near future," said Casey. He also said the company is in discussions with Kraft to bring its Tazo teas into supermarkets. Starbucks also announced Thursday that the company is taking a stake in a women's cable-net operation called Oxygen Media
from: cbs.marketwatch.com
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"Starbucks' Internet strategy heats up"
By Frank Barnako, CBS MarketWatch
Last Update: 3:23 PM ET Jun 17, 1999
Starbucks Coffee Co. (SBUX: news, msgs) said Thursday it's partnered with a women's media company and launched a magazine as part of a "convergence" strategy. "Our alliance with Oxygen Media is one of the early events of our exciting Internet strategy," said Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman and chief executive. "It gives us the opportunity to lower the cost of customer acquisition by fully leveraging the convergence that is now occurring within the Internet, cable and other media channels. We have 10 million customers who visit our locations weekly, and with 70 percent of these customers already online, we have an extremely loyal and Internet-savvy customer base." Oxygen was founded last year by Geraldine Laybourne to create a media brand for women. The companies said their alliance is expected to feature Starbucks products and services on Oxygen's network of sites Oxygen.com as well as co-created content and community. In part, the content will include a new magazine Starbucks is distributing in its stores and online, Joe. "Our partnership with Time Inc. to create Joe magazine and joemag.com is another step toward converging print, the Internet and our retail stores into a seamless experience for our customers," Schultz said.
from:
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