'Additional Human Touch': Starbucks Has a Turnaround Plan That Includes Buying 200,000 Sharpies. Here's Why. Faced with declining sales, Starbucks has a comeback plan that involves several changes to stores and menus. Here's a look at the changes coming to your store.

By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut

Key Takeaways

  • Starbucks reported quarterly results on Wednesday, with revenue down 3% year-over-year.
  • Starbucks’ new CEO Brian Niccol outlined a turnaround plan.
  • One move is giving employees Sharpies to write down customer names or personalized messages on cups.

Starbucks reported its third consecutive quarter of declining sales in the U.S. on Wednesday.

To turn things around, Starbucks' new CEO, Brian Niccol, is making some changes to the company's menu, atmosphere, and customer service, including removing olive oil coffee drinks and not charging extra for non-dairy milk as of November 7.

Starbucks is now also buying 200,000 Sharpie markers for close to 17,000 locations in the U.S. so that employees can write the names of customers or personalized messages on cups.

Related: Starbucks Tells Corporate Staff to Work in the Office 3 Days a Week or It's 'Separation' Time

"It's going to give them the opportunity to put that additional human touch on every coffee experience," Niccol said on Starbucks' Q4 earnings call on Wednesday.

Brian Niccol. Credit: Robin Marchant/Getty Images

Other changes include offering customers who stay to drink coffee the choice of a ceramic mug, and bringing back the condiment bar by early next year so customers can put milk and sugar in their coffee on their own.

The goal is to make Starbucks feel more like a "third place" or a site where people want to sit down — so comfortable seating and redesigned layouts will make an appearance at Starbucks too in the coming months.

"We're reclaiming the third place so our cafes feel like the welcoming coffee house our customers remember," Niccol said on the earnings call.

Related: Starbucks' New CEO Can Make Up to $113 Million His First Year

These changes follow what Niccol called a "very disappointing" quarter for Starbucks. Revenue was down 3% from the same time last year, hitting $9.1 billion, and foot traffic to stores declined, especially in the afternoon. A 6% drop in U.S. sales drove the bulk of the revenue decline.

Niccol stated that in order to make a comeback, Starbucks would have to go back to its roots.

"We have to get back to what has always set Starbucks apart," he said. "A welcoming coffee house where people gather and where we serve the finest coffee handcrafted by our skilled baristas."

Related: Starbucks's New CEO Has More to Worry About Than His 1,000-Mile Commute
Sherin Shibu

Entrepreneur Staff

News Reporter

Sherin Shibu is a business news reporter at Entrepreneur.com. She previously worked for PCMag, Business Insider, The Messenger, and ZDNET as a reporter and copyeditor. Her areas of coverage encompass tech, business, strategy, finance, and even space. She is a Columbia University graduate.

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