Starbucks to educate staff about racism – and it could cost coffee giant US$12 million in lost profits from 8,000 US store closures
Coffee giant Starbucks will shut stores around the United States on Tuesday to conduct an unprecedented training exercise at its more than 8,000 American outlets
As Starbucks prepares to close stores for racial-bias training this week, the coffee giant will not only be confronting a difficult and emotional issue, but will incur some hefty expenses in the process.
Starbucks’ decision to initiate the training will cost US$12 million in lost profit as it closes the doors of more than 8,000 company-owned stores and its corporate office Tuesday afternoon, estimates Sharon Zackfia, a partner at investment banking firm William Blair.
The training caps a series of efforts that the company has undertaken to recover from criticism concerning an incident that occurred at a Starbucks store in downtown Philadelphia in April.
Since the incident, the Seattle-based chain has apologised to the victims, who received a financial settlement. Starbucks created a new policy which allows people who don’t make purchases to use restrooms.