Starbucks, Nike, and Boeing are currently on the hunt for a means to travel through time, it seems.
Each company has a new leader at the helm, tasked with rectifying issues and restoring the brand to its previous success. None of these leaders have an easy path ahead, as the past week demonstrated.
The facts: A preliminary financial report released Tuesday indicated a downfall in sales for Starbucks for the third consecutive quarter. The decline was most notable in the USA, plummeting by 10%, and in China, where it fell by 14%. Sales have not been this low since the initial stages of the pandemic.
The figures were so disheartening that Starbucks made the uncommon move of withdrawing its financial projections for the rest of the year, providing the new CEO with more time to devise a strategy.
Brian Niccol stepped into the role last month, leaving his position as CEO of Chipotle to become Starbucks' third CEO in just three years. Yet, even for Niccol, famed for revitalizing ailing businesses, this job will be a daunting challenge.
So far, Niccol has expressed a desire to streamline the menu, enhance staffing levels, and possibly - please, for the sake of decency - provide easy access to milk and sugar.
"We must fundamentally alter our strategy to encourage growth," Niccol stated. "People admire Starbucks, but I've heard from some customers that we have deviated from our core values."
In essence: Aim to recapture the comfortable, '90s-style coffee shop ambiance that most adore, and perhaps reconsider promoting olive oil-infused beverages.
Repeat the Performance
Nike faces a similar predicament.
Its stock has plummeted by 25% this year, and revenue slipped by 10% last quarter compared to the previous one. Like Starbucks, this company now has a new leader who is expected to bring innovative ideas to revitalize the brand.
Easier said than done, of course. Nike's struggles stem from its own strategic errors, as well as intensified competition from emerging brands such as Hoka and On.
The new CEO, Elliott Hill, has been on the job for only a couple of weeks and has already sealed a 12-season extension of Nike's association with the NBA and WNBA, guaranteeing the swoosh logo's presence on professional basketball uniforms and apparel.
Upcoming projects: Finding ways to re-establish the cool factor in their shoes.
The problem child
Lastly, Boeing. Boeing, Boeing, Boeing...
Overall, things were already in disarray when Kelly Ortberg assumed the CEO position in August, and they have only worsened since then.
On Wednesday, union employees who have been on strike for six weeks refused Boeing's proposal to return to work, meaning the work stoppage that is draining approximately $1 billion per month from the company will continue. Incidentally, Boeing reported a $6 billion loss in the third quarter, one of the largest quarterly losses in the company's history, on the same day.
All this unfolds following a year that began with one of their planes' door latches dislodging mid-flight. But this was merely the culmination of a six-year period marked by a series of tragedies, damning revelations about the company's systematic failures, and the near-total destruction of Boeing's reputation for quality and safety.
Like Nike and Starbucks, Boeing seeks to reinvent itself based on its former self. However, for Ortberg, the rot runs much deeper and goes back more than a decade. Unfortunately, Boeing won't be able to construct the time machine it so desperately needs without the 33,000 machinists who are currently on strike.
The financial struggles at Starbucks, as revealed by their third consecutive quarter of decreased sales, have put pressure on the new CEO, Brian Niccol, to devise a strategy for revitalizing the business. This company, like Nike and Boeing, now has a new leader tasked with restoring its success.
Nike's new CEO, Elliott Hill, also faces a task of revitalizing the brand, as shown by the company's 10% revenue decline last quarter compared to the previous one. Both companies, Starbucks and Nike, are striving to re-establish their former success and reclaim their reputations in the business world.
