(Reuters) - Starbucks Corp’s (SBUX.O) shares fell as much as 3 percent on Tuesday as the departure of Howard Schultz, the entrepreneur who turned 11 cafes into a global juggernaut, added to a series of worrying headlines for the world’s biggest coffee chain.
Schultz, who took up the post of executive chairman after he stepped down as chief executive in 2017, will be stepping away from the company after nearly four decades to mull a “range of options”.
Under Schultz, the company reinvented the coffee drinking experience - introducing a consumer friendly environment where people could order a range of beverages and lounge for several hours.
A successful model drove the company’s share price for years, but recently Starbucks has been battling increased competition from rivals such as JAB Holdings and independent coffee shops. It is also facing slower growth in its dominant U.S. market, while also taking on a massive expansion project in China.
Shares of the Seattle based-company fell as much as 3.1 percent to $55.28 on Tuesday, compared to a nearly 2 percent drop when Schultz’s exit was announced after the closing bell on Monday.
For graphic on Starbucks shares under Schultz click reut.rs/2JowGCf
The company was recently mired in an embarrassing racial profiling incident that involved the arrest of two black men in a Philadelphia store. Schultz was brought in by CEO Kevin Johnson to control the crisis and stem any further damage to the company’s image.
“Investors did not anticipate Schultz (would) return to the CEO role to help improve domestic trends, but we view the resignation as an incremental negative
