Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan did not mention Israel or Hamas by name when, in a message on Tuesday, he condemned “violence against the innocent, hate and weaponized speech and lies” and complained that “misinformation” has led to vandalism at his chain’s own locations.
He didn’t need to. Starbucks has found itself embroiled in the Israel-Hamas war unlike perhaps any other company in the U.S. The issue has led to talk of boycotts, reports of a sales and market valuation decline and a growing incidence of damage to the chain’s locations that in some of the worst cases prompted temporary closures.
And that apparently prompted Narasimhan to use an end-of-year message to make clear where Starbucks stands on the issue.
“I am concerned about the state of the world we live in,” he wrote. “There are conflicts in many parts. It has unleashed violence against the innocent, hate and weaponized speech and lies—all of which we condemn.”
Narasimhan then noted the impact this has had on the company’s stores and on its employees, which Starbucks calls “partners.”
“Many of our stores have experienced incidents of vandalism,” he wrote. “We see protestors influenced by misrepresentation on social media of what we stand for. We have worked with local authorities to ensure our partners and customers are safe. Nothing is more important.”
“Our stance is clear,” he added. “We stand for humanity.”
The vandalism Narasimhan speaks of has grown at the chain’s locations in recent weeks, since Hamas-led Palestinian groups launched an attack on Israel in October, prompting the worst conflict in the region in 50 years.
Reports from that war have spread on traditional and social media and led to protests around the world. And it quickly engulfed Starbucks and its union, Starbucks Workers United. In a tweet on the social media site X, the union said, “Solidarity with Palestine!” that prompted U.S. Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to call for a boycott of Starbucks.
While the union’s tweet has since been deleted, it later tweeted that the union stands with Palestine, with a deeper explanation for its view. Starbucks and the union then traded lawsuits in federal court over the issue, with Starbucks arguing that the union’s use of the company’s logo confuses people who conflate the union’s stance with that of the company’s.
The union, on the other hand, argues that Starbucks is defaming the group by implying it supports terrorism.
Regardless, the issue has made Starbucks a focal point of protests on one side or the other. In November, for instance, the company temporarily closed a Starbucks Reserve Roastery after pro-Palestinian protesters apparently swarmed the building and spraypainted the walls, windows and floors.
A location in the State College area in Pennsylvania was also forced to close temporarily after apparent protesters broke a glass and spraypainted “Free Palestine” on the building. Two stores in Houston, another in San Carlos, Calif., stores in Durham, NC., Worcester, Mass., and other locations have also been subject to vandalism.
At the same time, there are reports that boycotts associated with the issue are hurting Starbucks’ sales and its stock price.
Starbucks stock declined nearly 10% after hitting more than $107 per share in November. The decline followed two events.
First was a report in the Wall Street Journal noting that Luckin Coffee had overtaken Starbucks in China, the company’s most important growth market. Second was a report by JP Morgan suggesting that sales had started to slow. Bloomberg noted the decline and the JP Morgan report, suggesting that perhaps the “Red Cup Rebellion” at unionized stores on Red Cup Day Nov. 16 was partly to blame.
But that also led to reports in other publications that equated the decline with boycotts related to the Israel-Palestine war, noting that said boycotts helped cause the company to lose “$11 billion in value” as a result.
Whether its sales are indeed slumping remains to be seen. Data from third-party sources can frequently be misleading, and boycotts have typically failed to make any sort of dent in sales at giant restaurant chains.
At the same time, the letter illustrates just how difficult this month has been for the Seattle-based coffee giant.
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