Coffee giant Starbucks’ (SBUX) labor troubles seem to be getting worse. The strikes that were confined to a handful of stores, and often not for very long in the course of a day, seem to be catching on. New reports are emerging about stores shut down for strikes, and about area government reps getting involved. The news was still mild, but unnerving to shareholders nonetheless. Starbucks shares were down fractionally in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Starbucks baristas in Northampton, Massachusetts recently threw in their lot with protesters, as their strike entered the multi-day stage over the weekend. The demands were familiar enough: finalize the contracts with unionized locations, and include things like higher pay and better staffing, along with addressing the “hundreds” of unfair labor charges. A Starbucks in Reno, Nevada also closed down as the strikes continued.
But perhaps the newest, and most eye-catching, yet kicked in over the weekend, as a Long Beach, California Starbucks brought in Congressman Ro Khanna. Khanna reportedly joined in the picket line, prompting the union to offer a statement of praise from the union itself. The union statement noted, “Finalizing a fair union contract would cost Starbucks less than one average day’s sales and less than Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol’s $96 million compensation for just four months of work in 2024, which is the biggest CEO-to-worker pay gap in the country and 6,666 times the average barista’s salary.”
Japanese Starbucks Helps Prove Third Place Concept
Starbucks’ efforts to cast itself as a “third place,” a place that is neither work nor home for people to go to and attempt to socialize, might want to consider one Starbucks location in Osaka, which some are calling “the most relaxing Starbucks in Japan.” Found on the second floor of the Links Umeda shopping mall, the shop uses a particular decorating scheme to project relaxation.
Known as “Shinrinyoku Tree,” or “Forest Bathing Tree,” the store basically surrounds customers with active plant life, allowing the customer to effectively “bathe” in nature. This includes a substance trees release called phytoncides. Some suggest that phytoncides reduce stress hormones and improve immune function.
Is Starbucks Stock a Good Buy?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus rating on SBUX stock based on 12 Buys, seven Holds and two Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 1.02% rally in its share price over the past year, the average SBUX price target of $95 per share implies 8.63% upside potential.
