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Coffee kingpin Starbucks announced on Wednesday in a sweeping change plan that it will revert to grinding coffee beans in each store and introduce hi-tech brewing machines.(File Photo)
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BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhuanet) -- In an effort to win back disenchanted customers, the struggling coffee kingpin Starbucks announced on Wednesday in a sweeping change plan that it will revert to grinding coffee beans in each store and introduce hi-tech brewing machines.
Howard D. Schultz, the chief executive of Starbucks, announced to a room of 6,000 shareholders that Starbucks would make more changes to its shops in an effort to push beyond the competition and become the ultimate coffee "experience."
One of the more significant changes will be the scooping and grinding of beans within the store. Instead of using vacuum-packed granules, staff would return to Starbucks' original procedure of grinding fresh beans on the spot.
The company will also replace its espresso machines with Mastrena machines. Schultz said that 75 percent of all Starbucks locations will have the new espresso machine by the end of 2010.
The machine will take out any human error that can contribute to bad-tasting espresso resulting in "superior consistency of espresso shots."
"By embracing our heritage, returning to our core - all things coffee - and our relentless commitment to innovation, we will reignite the emotional connection we have with our customers and transform the Starbucks experience," Schultz said in a statement.
Starbucks also announced the purchase of Coffee Equipment Co., a four-year-old Seattle-based maker of the Clover coffee machine, whcih brews a more expensive, higher-quality coffee one cup at a time. Starbucks will roll out Clover systems in select markets.
The announcements are intended to help Starbucks hang on to customers in the face of intensifying competition for brewed coffee from Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's, which is widely introducing espresso beverages this year.
(Agencies)
