Starbucks Coffee CorporationPO Box 6363

Dover, DE 19905-63631 (800) 782-7282

http://www.starbucks.com/

Investor Relations of Starbucks

Brief OverviewSince 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting the highest quality Arabica coffee in the world. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through its unwavering commitment to excellence and its guiding principles, the unique Starbucks experience is brought to life for every customer through every cup.(Our Heritage). Starbucks offers various investor relations programs, such as press releases, conferences, annual meetings, events, presentations, investor services, and much more, that will be discussed in detail below.

Mission StatementCompany—“To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” (Our Company).

Investor Relations—”Our mission is to be a world-class investor relations team. As a key resource to the financial community and Starbucks leadership, we are committed to being a reliable, responsive, transparent source of valuable information” (Investor Relations).

Ticker Symbol/Trading Price(NASDAQ:SBUX)LAST PRICE$75.46 on TUE SEP 30, 2014 at 8:24 pm

0.19(Investor Overview)

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Assessment of Investor RelationsStarbucks is an extremely open company with all it does. It lays everything out in a clear and concise manner for its investors to have readily available. This allows Starbucks to be labeled as an ethical corporation. Starbucks has its own mission statement for investor relations, which depicts that, “Our mission is to be a world-class investor relations team. As a key resource to the financial community and Starbucks leadership, we are committed to being a reliable, responsive, transparent source of valuable information” (Investor Overview).

Starbucks seeks to establish that it is a publicly traded company that is a good investment by depicting the manner in which it is financially profitable,well-managed, and ethical. Another goal that Starbucks has is to maintain a positive public image,especially among the financial community. This goal is accomplished by connecting the many areas of communications together such as community relations, employee relations and investor relations. An investor is less likely to invest in a company that has a bad reputation in the community rather than a company that maintains an ethical reputation. It is necessary for a company to conduct research on clients and audiences as well as developing problems and opportunities regarding investor relations. Audiences that Starbucks must research include the financial community, everyday investors, and specialized and mass media. Starbucks understands the high degree of importance involving communication to their shareowners, potential shareowners, financial media, and investors.

The Starbucks website is laid out in a way that makes information navigation clear and easily accessible. Starbucks utilizes tactics that include press releases, events and presentations, financial information, stock information and investor services to name a few (Investor Overview).

TacticsCorporate Governance:Within the topic, Starbucks displays the members of the Board of Directors, Senior Offices, and explains what is contained within the Corporate Governance Materials. The Corporate Governance Materials page lists documents such as Starbucks Position on National Health Care Reform, Directors and Officers, Board of Committee Charters, and the Materials. Starbucks states who is on the Board of Directors with the name and title they hold in the company. Starbucks incorporates a similar theme within the Starbucks Newsroom page which displays the members of the leadership team accompanied by headshots of each member. A tactic Starbucks utilizes with these pages is face-to-face communication which enhances trust and credibility between the leaders of the corporation and the investors (Corporate Governance).

Press Releases:Starbucks utilizes uncontrolled media with press releases. The press release page exhibits Corporate News and Financial Releases. Within the Corporate News page, Starbucks depicts what is new such as coffee and beverages, food, customer

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experience, community responsibility, partner (employee experience), and much more. Starbucks utilizes the social media content tactic through Twitter. On the Financial Releases page, Starbucks clearly lists the releases it has output to the media for the past four years and allows anyone to print these items for future reference. Another tactic press releases utilize are media relations because it is necessary for a corporation to consistently keep a good relationship with the press.

Event & Presentations:Within the Starbucks event calendar, a monthly calendar with day-to-day information is listed. It shows exactly what will occur on a specific date. Its webcasts and presentations page depicts when presentations, annual meetings of shareholders, and conferences will take place and who will speak at these events. The Biennial Investor Conference took place in 2012 multiple times with numerous individuals presenting. The conference shows how Starbucks utilizes events as a tactic for relating to its investors (Events and Presentation).

Financial Information:Annual Reports, Quarterly Reports, SEC Filings and Supplemental Financial Data are all listed on the Financial Information page for both current and potential investors to research. Starbucks is using the tactic of controlled media through releasing these files that explain the financial statistics and information of the corporation (Financial Information).

Stock Information:Within the Stock Information page of Starbucks is Analyst Coverage, Analyst Estimates, Dividend History, Historical Price Lookup, Investment Calculator and Stock Quote & Stock Chart. The Analyst Coverage lists the names of firms that are currently providing research coverage on Starbucks. The Estimates page displays a log of the First Call Estimates accompanied by statistical information. Stock Information utilizes controlled media as a tactic in its investor relations(Stock Information) .

Investor Services:Investor FAQ and Information Request are both listed under the Stock Information page. The Investor FAQ is an awesome investor relations tactic because it allows for potential and current investors questions to be answered with little to no effort by the investor. The Information Request page links back to the FAQ as well as gives an email address if an individual has any further questions or concerns. These are examples of controlled media because Starbucks is the one controlling the answers to the investor questions (Investor Services).

Analysis of Investor Relations ExampleEven though investor relations is a challenging aspect of the communication world, Starbucks takes this challenge head on. An example of Starbucks investor relations is Starbucks' acquisition of Starbucks Japan. Starbucks is exhibiting that they are a publicly traded company and that it is expanding the corporation to improve overseas opportunities. Starbucks is utilising press releases, conferences, an explanatory

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statement, annual reports and meetings, and voting results. These documents show the successful use of controlled media in relations (Investor Relations).

Through Investor FAQ and Information Request, located on Starbucks’ webpage, investors are able to view the answers to any financial questions or request new information that may not be clear to them. This gives the investors security on the financial stability of the organization, as well as the responsiveness they may need to make a financial decision (Investor Relations).

Aside from annual reports, Starbucks also allows investors to view quarterly reports, keeping them up-to-date on the financial information that they need. It is helpful for the investor, as well as the organization, because for there to be less unanswered questions and ensures financial clarity (Financial Information).

Themes and MessagesStarbucks does an outstanding job of presenting itself to potential investors. It focuses on having a “world-class” investor relations team as one of its main messages. It goes above and beyond to insure that its investors and potential investors are clear on all of its financial information through past, present, and future goals and standings (Investor Relations).

Starbucks also has three main themes of reliability, responsiveness, and transparency. It shows transparency through its readily available, up-to-date, and clearly interpreted, easily accessible financial information. Reliability is shown through the sense of trust gained by the investor/potential investors through the organizational clarity of its financial stability and growth, through its various forms of past and present proof and examples on how, why, and where their finances are spent and gained through programs and events, such as quarterly and annual reports. Starbucks shows responsiveness through its skilled and helpful team that goes above and beyond expectations in making sure that investors have all and any questions answered accurately. For example, its website includes Investor FAQ and Information Requests portions. Also, regularly scheduled events, such as press conferences and meetings help in answering questions, clearing up issues, or simply stating information, among many things (Investor Relations).

Like any publicly traded company, Starbucks aims to insure its investors that it is a good investment through the proof of three main IR concerns: financial stability and organizational growth, sound management, and ethics. It does this through three of its main themes, listed both above and in its mission statement, reliability, responsiveness, and transparency. Starbucks’ reliability shows that the company is financially stable and is a growing organization (Investor Relations). For example, the Fiscal 2013 Annual Report begins,“I am honored to share with you that Starbucks has once again delivered record performance in fiscal 2013, exceeding expectations on almost all fronts as we continued to drive growth across geographies, categories, and our multiple channels of distribution” (Fiscal 2013 Annual Report).

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Starbucks’ responsiveness shows that it has sound management. The management team is available to answer any questions that have not yet been answered by their clearly stated investor relations information. Also, they have a well-structured website and set of programs/services/activities that represent a well-managed organization (Investor Relations).

Lastly, Starbucks shows ethics through its transparency. It allows investors to gain any and every financial information that is readily available. Also, it gives back to its partners and national and regional communities (Investor Relations).

Recommendations of ImprovementOverall, we feel that Starbucks has excellent investor relations programs in place. For example, their stock information is kept entirely up-to-date, listed at the top, in an easy-to-see area. Along with this, their recent financial reports, webcasts, press releases, and events are listed on the main investor relations page.

We feel Starbucks should decrease their expansion rate and focus its efforts on locations that are currently in place. It is important for such a large company such as Starbucks to recognize the economical state of the country and attempt to stop price increases because they can lead to profit loss.

Proven MaximsOne proven maxim that applies to Starbucks’ investor relations is the one that stresses the importance of clarity, simplicity, and symbolism on the likelihood of people to accept the message. For example, Starbucks has an eye-catching, consistent logo which is shown on every page of their website along with the works they produce. In relation to investor relations, the Starbucks stock information is listed at the top of the investor relations page with a clear, simple description of the most important current information. Their most recent investor relations information, events, and webcasts are posted on the first page.

Another proven maxim that applies to Starbucks’ investor relations is the one about how the source of information considered trustworthy, expert, or authoritative is most likely to be believed. Starbucks’ investor relations webcasts and media content feature well-known Starbucks management, often even the CEO, Howard Schultz.

A final proven maxim that applies to Starbucks is the one about the importance of face-to-face communication. This is done through conferences and meetings, both digital and in person, as well as through events. Recent and upcoming conferences, meetings, and events are listed on their investor relations overview page (Investor Overview).

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Bibliography

Starbucks Investor Relations. (n.d.) Retrieved September 30, 2014, fromhttp://investor.starbucks.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99518&p=irol-IRHome

Starbucks About Us: Our Heritage. (n.d.) Retrieved September 30, 2014, fromhttp://www.starbucks.com/about-us/our-heritage

Starbucks Company Information: Mission Statement. (n.d.) Retrieved September 30, 2014, fromhttp://www.starbucks.com/about-us/company-information/mission-statement

Starbucks 2013 Fiscal Annual Report. (n.d.) Retrieved September 30, 2014, fromhttp://investor.starbucks.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=99518&p=irol-irhome

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