The Financial Times is reporting that Starbucks ($SBUX) is investing (betting?) $1 billion in transforming some 9,000 cafes into what is being referred to as “community lounges.”
This sounds like something we might have heard from former CEO Howard Schultz and his “third place concept,” but that was before the rise of mobile ordering.
How that $1 billion squares with current CEO Brian Niccol’s target of taking $2 billion out of the business in cost savings over the next two years is just one of the questions folks are likely to have. Another is with the rise of Dutch Bros ($BROS) and others that offer quick service, is the Starbucks notion of “community lounges” outdated?
With 30 years of cross-industry experience, Chris Versace brings his thematic investing lens to TheStreet Pro Portfolio (formerly Action Alerts PLUS) each day as lead portfolio manager. His daily insights, analysis, and recommendations provide the foundation for TheStreet's Pro Portfolio.
Versace began his career in equity research before founding Versace Management in 2005. He joined TheStreet team in 2011 as a Real Money contributor before becoming portfolio manager of Action Alerts PLUS in 2021. He holds an MBA from Fordham Gabelli School of Business and has co-authored a book called “Cocktail Investing - Distilling Everyday Noise into Clear Investing Signals for Better Returns.”
With a passion for teaching others about investing, Versace spent 9 years as an Assistant Professor of Finance at NJCU School of Business. When he’s not contributing to TheStreet’s premium services, he can be found speaking at industry conferences or at a Bruce Springsteen concert (he’s seen him 50 times and counting!).
