Transcript:
Conway Gittens: I’m Conway Gittens reporting from the New York Stock Exchange. Here’s what we’re watching on TheStreet today.
Tech stocks are in the red this Wednesday for the second time this week. The mood, however, could change as several big tech names are due to release quarterly results. Outside of tech, Kohl’s is slashing its corporate workforce by 10 percent. The job cuts are part of a turnaround effort that includes plans to shut 27 low-performing stores.
Related: Starbucks revokes a major privilege customers love
Sticking with retail turnaround plans, Starbucks is making some changes under new CEO Brian Niccol, which it hopes will bring back some deserted customers. At the top of the list: slimming-down its menu. Niccol told investors that the menu is going to get about 30 percent smaller. The downsize will impact both food and drinks.
In addition to fewer menu items, Starbucks is investing $2.5 billion in a system aimed at helping baristas take fewer steps to make each drink. According to Starbucks, the new system will include “a custom ice dispenser, milk-dispensing system and new, faster blenders all located within reach of a barista.” 40 percent of Starbucks locations are expected to have that new system in place by 2026.
And those aren’t the only changes. Starbucks is bringing back the beloved condiment bar, which it ditched during pandemic times for reasons we all can understand. But now with health concerns less of an issue, the milk, creamers, sugars, and spices will be back at customers’ reach.
There’s also a new Code of Conduct, which could impact Starbuck’s long-held image as a place to sit back, sip, and chill. That image, however, hasn’t been translating to more business at the cash register lately. Sales at Starbucks have been down for four straight quarters- that’s a losing streak Starbucks hopes to stop with all the changes.
That’ll do it for your Daily Briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m Conway Gittens with TheStreet.
Watch ICYMI This Week:
