Starbucks CEO defends equal marriage backing and tells unhappy shareholder to sell stock

[TotallyOz]

At the meeting yesterday a shareholder questioned the profitability of Starbucks’ marriage equality stance by bringing up a boycott being levied against the coffee company by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), a group adamantly opposed to equal marriage rights.

 

The shareholder referred to NOM’s boycott, and said: “In the first full quarter after this boycott was announced, our sales and our earrings—shall we say politely—were a bit disappointing.”

 

CEO Howard Schultz replied that “not every decision is an economic decision,” and went on to suggest that if shareholders thought their return was not strong enough in the face of opposition for supporting such issues, they could sell their shares.

 

Mr Schultz said: “If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38% you got last year, it’s a free country. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company.”

 

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/03/22/starbucks-ceo-defends-equal-marriage-backing-and-tells-unhappy-shareholder-to-sell-stock/

[NIrishGuy]

See I'd love to think the SEO was telling the share holder "if you don't like our stance on gay equality you can just take your shares and go elsewhere" but I've a funny feeling the slant of his comments where more as he directly said in that "if you don't like the profit you've made on our shares you can of course cash them in and go elsewhere" - which is a whole different point.

 

Mind you to be fair to them at least Starbucks DID put their name up openly in support of the whole marriage equality debate when it matters so credit to them for that.

[KhorTose]

Mind you to be fair to them at least Starbucks DID put their name up openly in support of the whole marriage equality debate when it matters so credit to them for that.

As a Seattle native, I can tell you that Schultz has always been a supporter of the gay community, both in his company and in the city as a whole.

[NIrishGuy]

Oh really, that's good to hear, now as well as having a social conscience re marriage equality and gay rights etc if we can then also perhaps get them to start paying some tax back into the UK economy after extracting their profits out of it for the good of the very customers they got the money from in the first place then we'll really have cracked the nut ! ( or in their case coffee bean perhaps :-)

[Guest anonone]

Quite a difference from the biggoted crazy that runs Chik fil a.  I haven't set foot in that place since the revelation they donate money to anti-gay groups.  (Which is a struggle as they serve up some mean fried chicken...but better for my waistline as well)

[Guest fountainhall]

At a slight tangent, Starbucks in Thailand has recently abandoned providing Thai orange juice (for which it used to charge Bt. 60 for a decent glassful) in favour of imported processed muck they call Valencia Orange Juice. This costs Bt. 85 for a smaller bottle. I tried it yesterday and didn't finish it.

 

I happen to love Thai orange juice. Most good hotels and restaurants around the country offer it. You can even buy it on the streets outside many Starbucks for Bt. 15-20. In this case, I reckon the local franchisee is shooting himself in the foot!

[NIrishGuy]

Is that the stuff from the stalls in the small bottles you mean?

 

I was once told when I arrived in Thailand for my first trip never to buy that as the water it was made up with may not be "safe" and it could well just be tap water used etc so I have avoided it ever since, any thoughts on that as like most of the things I was told when i first arrived by bar room experts in Soi 4 they have turned out to be mainly nonsense, but for some reason I figured there could well be some truth to that one and may it appears have been denying myself something pleasant for no good reason??

[Guest anonone]

I have had the small 20 baht OJ bottles from street vendors many times with no problems. Only in Pattaya though...and yes, it tastes really good.

 

Full disclosure- I eat Thai style during my trips, including roadside kitchens and food carts. The first couple of trips I went through a couple unpleasant episodes, but I seem to be adjusted to it now. I did draw the line at a raw beef dish served up at a roadside stall along the highway to Rayong, BF had them cook a portion for me...was delicious cooked...didn't try it raw.

 

I do have some standards...lol

[Guest]

I fully support the Starbucks CEO on both his gay friendly stance and optimising their tax payments. Our governments only waste the money anyway.

 

What I don't like is their wifi charges. In Thailand, it seems you need to take out a 1 month sub, or something like that. I just wouldn't visit their shops often enough to make it worthwhile.

Surely they could put a code on the receipt which gives 15 minutes of free fast wifi, followed by continuing low priority service?

Anyhow, luckily there are other coffee shops around. Gafae near Tuk Com is an excellent example.

[NIrishGuy]

Actually I discovered that Tuk com itself offers free wifi throughout their entire building I believe and certainly the ground floor, which also then of course gives you coverage in Starbucks itself.

 

But yes I totally agree with you that it's disgraceful that a coffee shop of all places and one that charges what Starbucks do don't happily give their "valued" customers free wifi considering its so widely used by their customers.

[Guest fountainhall]

Is that the stuff from the stalls in the small bottles you mean?

 

I was once told when I arrived in Thailand for my first trip never to buy that as the water it was made up with may not be "safe" and it could well just be tap water used etc 

 

Watch it being made on the street. No water is involved. The oranges are sliced open, pressed and only pure juice goes into the bottles. Starbucks only reason for not selling it has to be profit! What is now being sold as orange juice is, as I quoted earlier, processed muck!