Starbucks, if you haven’t noticed, is struggling. I’ve read a few statistics about them recently, but none stands out more than their foot traffic being down 10% over the last year. If you don’t already know, Starbucks lured their new CEO, Brian Niccol, from Chipotle for something like $100 million back in September. Already, I think he’s doing some things that are questionable like pulling back on their rewards program. If you’re a member of Starbucks Rewards, I’m sure you’ve noticed (yes, I’m bitter).

Niccol certainly has the pedigree to get them back on track, but the biggest issue he’ll have to tackle is complacency. That’s right, this multi-billion-dollar company would never be in this mess if it weren’t for complacency throughout the organization. This is the same thing that kills many huge corporations the likes of Blockbuster, Nokia, Yahoo!, Myspace, etc. These companies thought they were too big to fail and therefore stopped innovating or, at the very least, didn’t adapt to changing times.

Owners of SMBs and entrepreneurs in general should take notice of these corporate behemoths so, just maybe, they won’t make the same mistake. Unfortunately, many business owners were complacent prior to the pandemic which is why so many businesses have tanked over the last four years. Now, we’re living in a completely different world where many people cannot afford a $7 latte every day (or at all).

So, what do you think… will Starbucks turn it around or will they struggle to find their footing and become another cautionary tale? Personally, I feel like they’ll never be what they once were but, hopefully they’ll find their way with a new captain at the helm.