Look for price drops and better smells at Starbucks after today’s annual meeting. The stuttering chain is losing sales to McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts, and former CEO Howard Schultz has returned to lead Starbucks to ubiquitous glory once again. The meeting’s not until this afternoon, but the company has already made a few announcements and Wall Street analysts their own predictions. Expect a customer-loyalty program offering price breaks or free drinks, cheaper drip coffee (which now represents only 12 percent of sales), freshly ground beans, dropping hot foods that mask the coffee smell, and fewer stores to open across the street from each other.
Starbucks Going Back to Grinding Beans [USAT]
Starbucks May Push Loyalty Card After Losing Patrons [Bloomberg]
