Starbucks announced it is closing all of its 8,000 locations across the US for the afternoon of May 29 for "racial-bias education" training. "All companies make mistakes," CEO Kevin Johnson said. "Great companies learn from them and improve."
- Starbucks CEO said that the company had not seen an impact on sales following backlash over the arrests of two black men at a Philadelphia store.
- The company is closing all 8,000 locations for an afternoon in May for "racial-bias education" training, which will likely cost Starbucks millions of dollars in lost sales.
- "All companies make mistakes," Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said Thursday. "Great companies learn from them and improve."
Boycotts and protests following the arrests of two black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks haven't impacted sales, according to the company's CEO.
"We are not seeing an impact on comp sales becuase of Philadelphia," CEO Kevin Johnson said in a call with investors on Thursday.
Following the arrests and backlash, Starbucks announced it is closing all of its 8,000 locations across the US for the afternoon of May 29 for "racial-bias education" training. Johnson said the company did not yet know how the closures would impact business, though rough estimations from Business Insider indicate the company will lose roughly $12.4 million in sales.
Johnson also emphasized that Starbucks is "focused on the long term and doing the right thing" following the arrests.
"All companies make mistakes," Johnson said. "Great companies learn from them and improve."
Starbucks reported on Thursday that US and global comparable-store sales increase by 2%, slightly beating the 1.9% gain expected by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Here's more on the Starbucks arrests, backlash, and bias training:
- Starbucks is closing all stores nationwide for racial-bias training — yet baristas say the problem runs deeper than many customers realize
- 'This is something that has been going on for years, but everyone is blind to it': Black men arrested after trying to use a Starbucks restroom break their silence
- Starbucks is closing all locations for 'racial-bias education' — and it is going to cost the company millions of dollars
- Starbucks is closing all locations in response to the arrest of 2 black men who tried to use a store's bathroom — and it's sparking a culture war on all sides
- Starbucks is doing something it has only done once before — and last time it cost the company $6 million
- Starbucks stores will close nationwide next month in an unprecedented attempt to fix a company crisis