The current business at Starbucks does not agree with the currently prevalent sentiments and fears of the recession, said the company CEO Kevin Johnson in a television interview. He said that the investments that the company had made in its digital customer relationships has helped the coffee chain to now be more in tune with its customers than ever before and this has helped the company to reap good benefits in terms of its performance.

Johnson said about 42 per cent of its total sale is contributed by Starbucks’ loyalty program which currently has more than 17 million active users who make use of the company’s mobile app on a regular basis to make purchases.

“We have not seen signs in the U.S. of anything related to a slowdown, but we do know these things go in cycles. But right now we’re firing on all cylinders and [the] consumer seems to be doing well,” he said during the interview.

In the latest ended quarter $6.8 billion in revenue in revenue was generated by Starbucks which is a rise of 8 per cent year on year. There was also a 7 per cent increase in revenues from same-store sales in the United States even as the trade war between US and China and the trade spats of the US with many other trading partners are at boiling levels. The company also noted a 6 per cent rise in revenues from same-store sales in China. This prompted the company to increase forecast for the entire year to $26.4 billion.

The driver for the success of the company has been the addition of new cold brew beverages to its menu and bettering customer experience both in store and in a digital ecosystem, said Johnson, who was appointed as the CEO of the Seattle-based global coffee chain in 2017. He added that the company has been able to automate staff schedules, enhance partner engagement, and raise customer connection scores to all-time highs because of the investments and focus of the company on technology.

“The company is on a path where we now are accelerating the pace of innovation in ways we believe are relevant to our customers, inspiring to our partners and they’re certainly meaningful to our business,” said Johnson, who is a tech veteran formally of Microsoft and Juniper Networks.

As part of its fall menu, the company would introduce pumpkin cream cold brew in the menu, the company announced as a part of its effort to innovate in the area of beverages. According to CNBC, since the pumpkin spice latte was brought to market nearly two decades ago, this is the first pumpkin drink of the coffeemaker.

“The combination of our cold brew — nitro cold brew, our refreshers — has unlocked the afternoon day part,” Johnson said. “In fact, a little over half of our beverages now are cold beverages.”

Former CEO Howard Schultz and other past executives were given credit by Johnson for developing a “purpose that goes far beyond the pursuit of profit.”

“That means we’re going to invest and take care of our partners, whether it’s health care, college achievement,” he said. “We just exceeded … the goal of hiring 25,000 veterans or military spouses. We’ve exceeded that goal 3 years early, and we are now on a run rate of hiring 5,000 veterans a year.”

(Adapted from CNBC.com)

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