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 Alstead will assume oversight of the company's day-to-day
operations. Scott Maw, senior vice president of corporate finance,
will succeed Alstead as CFO.
Starbucks, already a leader in mobile payments, gift cards, loyalty
programs and digital marketing, for years has been finding ways to
strengthen results by linking its cafe business and product sales
through grocery stores and other retailers.
Schultz said such efforts helped the Seattle-based company outshine
other U.S. retailers during the 2013 holiday season, when shopper
visits to overall brick-and-mortar stores dropped and online sales
increased.
Starbucks' traffic rose 4 percent during the quarter that included
the holiday season. The chain also saw a record $1.4 billion loaded
onto gift cards during that quarter.
The CEO expects the company's latest move to further strengthen
Starbucks' <SBUX.O> business.
It is an opportunity for Starbucks "to create new channels of
revenue and profit outside four walls of stores .. amid a seismic
shift" in the way consumers are shopping, Schultz who is also
chairman, told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Schultz, who will be working closely with executives including Chief
Digital Officer Adam Brotman and Chief Strategy Officer Matt Ryan,
declined to give specifics on the company's plans.
"This is not about succession planning and this is not about me in
any planning to or even thinking about leaving the company," he
said.
Starbucks is an investor in mobile payments provider Square. When
asked if Starbucks would buy Square, which counts the coffee company
among its users, Schultz said Starbucks has no near-term acquisition
plans.
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He did say that future efforts would include the use of "Starbucks
currency in other retailers outside Starbucks."
Starbucks already allows registered Starbucks card users to earn
"stars," or points, when they buy coffee at a participating grocery
store. Those stars can then be redeemed at a Starbucks cafe.
Starbucks has mobile payment applications in eight countries
including the United States and Canada. It offers Starbucks cards in
28 countries.
The company reaps 70 percent of its total revenue from its
U.S.-dominated Americas business, which includes sales from 11,500
U.S. cafes.
Its forecast for this fiscal year includes opening 1,500 new units
around the globe — including 600 in the U.S.-dominated Americas
region.
Shares in Starbucks inched up 0.2 percent to $71.70 in after-hours
trade.
(Reporting by Lisa Baertlein in Los
Angeles; editing by David Gregorio)
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