Starbucks is accused of exploiting tsunami disaster to boost sales

Starbucks promises to donate $2 to relief efforts in South Asia for every pound of Sumatra coffee sold. Some call this a naked marketing ploy -- exploiting the disaster to boost long-term sales -- and say it won't do nearly enough to help those who really need help. (Boston Herald)

Comments

[Juan Gomez]

Wow! $2 from their $10 retail. And they bought (green) beans at $1.00 a pound
at the non-fair trade rate.
Way to go *$. Bucks is your middle name. No aid need be given
than your initial $100,000 to CARE. And how much was the bonus last year?

...Coffee futures reached $1.087 a pound Dec. 21, the highest since
July 2000. The 2004 average was 77.12 cents, up 23 percent from
2003. The contract for March delivery fell 4.2 cents to $1.0375 a
pound Thursday, the last session this year.
....

Production in Indonesia probably fell 3.3 percent this year, the
third-straight annual decline, to 5.8 million bags, the U.S.
Agriculture Department attach? in Jakarta said in November.

Coffee from Indonesia's Sumatra island was selling for $1.84 a
pound before the Dec. 26 earthquake and resulting tsunami, said
Peter Longo, owner of New York-based coffee roaster and retailer
Porto Rico Importing. "I would think after this catastrophe in the
Indian Ocean, we may see Sumatran coffee at $4 or $5 a pound," he
said.
Saturday, January 01, 2005, 12:00 A.M. / Seattle Times
By Claudia Carpenter, Bloomberg News

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/text/2002137368_coffee01.html
---------
Starbucks Sumatra Whole Bean Coffee

Price: $20.38 for 2 x 1 lb packs.

[ex coffee wench]

i find it kind of embarassing for all the current partners of *$'s. wow 100,000$ to the tsunami damaged areas. you would think that with all the money they make off the area they would want to give more for a quick rebuild.quick rebuild=profit. oh wait this company isn't about profit, its about people.
how much was you stock option last year howard?why don't you sell some of it and give up your own money. do you think you could have given more without making the customers buy something?i do.howie? . my store i used to manage made more than 100,000$ in profit every year. thats 1 out of more than i can count now and it wasn't even a busy store.
starbucks needs this region so why won't they give more to this region. its simple they are too cheap.i'm so glad i'm out of this company. i just wonder why it took me 12 years to see i was being brainwashed.

[CoffeeBoy]

Maybe you should sign, Bitter Ex-coffee wench ??

[SeanTC]

Ah, CB, give the haters this post. They waited so long for one to call their own.
;)

[shift for starbucks]

With all the federal money or tax dollars cowboy george in Washington is sending I think it is pretty altruistic for anyone to send more money. It sucks that it happened and I could never imagine that kind of disatser happening here (Va. Beach) even hurricanes pale in comparison. Just so you haters know people don't have to buy Sumatra to contribute any donation can be made and some stores are even collecting items to send. The real impact on the coffee market over there isn't going to hit for 3-5 years anyway so I doubt prices will climb drastically at all. OUr next black apron coffee just happens to be a special Aged Sumatra so all you conspiricy theory people will love that! NOw Starbuck's cause earthquakes. Ha Ha

[Jack]

Either the $2/bag deal will generate a lot of incremental sales for Starbucks -- in which case it will result in significant money for the tsunami victims -- or it won't. If it doesn't generate incremental sales, it almost certainly will shift sales to Sumatran coffee from that produced in other areas (South America, Africa). If that happens, it will bring incremental business to Sumatran farmers, which will drive up the price for Sumatran coffee. That will help the locals.

I really don't see what the objection might be.

[dee]

How much did the company YOU work for contribute to the disaster?? How much did you personally contribute?
Sbux only has 3 stores in the area. They are supporting the partners who worked in those stores with cash and housing as well as sending $100,000 to Care (and one other relief effort)which Schultz said is an INITIAL donation. I think that's more than France donated. I'd have to say that compared to many other corporations, Starbucks is extremely generous with thier employees and in their charitable giving.

[corianderstem]

ex coffee wench, Howard Schultz did make a private donation. I don't have a link to the release, but I saw it in a press release a day or so ago.

I hate all the bitching about people and/or companies making "too small" donations. No one has to give anything at all. The fact is, they did. Lots of people and companies are giving. This isn't a farking competition.

[CoffeeBoy]

What people donate is a personal matter. Weather they be CEO's or just us plan Joe's.

Quit bitching folks. If you want to embarrassed, be embarrassed that countries like Australia and Germany have given more money to the effort than our own country.

Don't grind your old grudge coffee wench... after all how much did YOU make in stock options for working for Sbux for 12 years?

Yes it was hard work, but you were compensated quite well for it.

[I Drink Tully's]

Tully's is selling $10 bags of
Tsunami Relief coffee with the
ENTIRE TEN DOLLARS going to help
victims.

Starbucks better do something to
catch up.

[CoffeeBoy]

Howard made a 1 million dollar donation of his personal funds. Also, what no one has mentioned is Starbucks match program. Starbucks matches dollar for dollar any employee contribution. They have had this program for a couple years now. So if an employee donates $100, Sbuxs kicks in another $100. How many other companies do that? - I really don't know? - Do other companies?

And just to reiterate what someone else wrote; its not a friggin competition! If folks would spend more time giving instead of bitching (which can apply to every part of life!)...What a better world in general!

Also Sbux announces that anyone can make a donation to CARE at any Starbucks location, use Cash, credit, your sbux card. Just like at those other places right? Or maybe not...

[CoffeeBoy]

I couldn't find out how much Tully's initial donation was nor how much their CEO donated? Also interesting that they chose a Christian based organization to give to, whereas Sbux gives to CARE (and Sbux has supported CARE for many years).

Also, according to Tullys Press release(http://216.132.68.167/tc/company/cp_pr_display.asp?StoryID=156), they don't specify what types of coffee are in their 'Tsunami Response' coffee. Is it even from that part of the world?

At least if Sbux sells more Sumatra, they will not only donate $2 a bag, but will also have to buy more coffee from those affected areas.

[Cunning Stunt]

Tully's is selling closeout inventory that would normally be tossed or sold at cut rates. Yay, altruism!

Starbucks should be as generous to our soldiers who are protecting free enterprise with their lives. Why is Starbucks refusing to make a simple donation of coffee to them?

[Cunning Stunt]

Do you believe everything that hits your inbox without bothering to check the facts? Starbucks made a fifty thousand pound coffee donation in November to the military.

[jon]

brilliant background investigation by all the SBUX haters. I must give them one big hand for their blind hatred of something they don't even understand.

[SeanTC]

You think Starbucks needs to catch up to Tully's? Take a look at the press release dates and figure out who's following who here. Catch up? Sweetums, with Starbucks as the 800lb gorilla in this industry, they've already surpassed the total that Tully's will raise.

Christ, I feel dirty. And you make me sick.

[Sean]

Just to reiterate. Starbucks is GIVING a share of its profits away. They didnt have to. Starbucks is making it easy for those who want to just donate straight cash to the relief effort to do so at any retail store. They didnt have to.

Just because the company isnt closing its doors and giving all the money to the relief effort does not mean the good deeds dont count.

Im out.

[JavaJilly]

Oh for craps sake people...if *$s never said anything about donating any money from the sales of the Sumatra, Decaf Sumatra and Black Apron Aged Sumatra would you all be whining and saying "What the hell Howie!! You should be donating from your Sumatra bean sales!! It's only obvious!" Further more, if it does bump up sales of Sumatra, it will in turn help the people of Sumatra because *$s DOES need that coffee region so *$s will continue to buy from them. Think about it!!

[rofo]

If you all hate *$'s for this, just remember not to support any of those other companies giving up parts of their profit (based on product or services sales) to the poor people of that area. It's just shameless promotion and those people really don't need it anyway, right? Heartless fucks

[Max Glide]

Instead of bad mouthing anyone for donating whatever, we should examine how much we have done and go from there.

this calls for a bigger tax break for all companies exploiting the tsunami relief.

[notabushmuppet]

"Starbucks should be as generous to our soldiers who are protecting free enterprise with their lives."

And now, a word from our sponsor: Fox News!

[you're all idiots]

Starbucks contributes to more good causes than almost any company out there. The company, as a whole, does what they can and partners are also very involved in helping their community, as well as the world. In just the three months that I have worked for *$'s our store alone has volunteered twice at a local hospital, donated weeks worth of tips to various causes, participated in aids walks, given hundreds of pounds of coffee to our soldiers over seas, given pastries to local food drives, and that's just a start. This week we have decided that our contribution to the tsunami relief effort is to donate our tips. To all you haters, what have you done? Now shut up!

[Rowan Stewart]

I don't understand why when a company donates no money to the tsunami disaster relief, they get away with it and no one cares, but when a company donates a relatively small amount of money, everyone is outraged? at least they gave something.

So far Starbucks has raised over 500,000 for the donation through sales of sumatran coffee and at the register CARE donations

[coffeediva]

Listen. People who are going to buy whole beans are going to buy whole beans. In addition to Howard's personal contribution, the partners of *$ have collectively donated almost a million dollars. This includes baristas donating tips, individual contributions matched by the company's "Make Your Mark" program, and individual donations made by loyal customers. There is no scam involved here.

[Sbux employee]

I'm not going to be a crazy person who tries to make her point by cussing out or yelling at people who think Starbucks is not generous. All I will say is Yes, we do donate $2 from every bag of Indonesian coffee sold(yes not just Sumatra), and we also allow people to donate money to the tsunami effort through CARE. People can donate directly through their regular transactions. That is just the company in general. Many other baristas and other employees have donated in many different ways. Thanks to anyone who reads this.

p.s. visit www.care.org/starbucks for more intricate info

Most of you writing this hatred need to take another look at Starbucks Coffee Company. There is so much pride and commitment involved. I am proud of what I do and who I work for. We serve our customers with the up most respect and I have made some very good friends within the stores. We have donated millions of money and time trying to make this world a better place and to make you see that it isn't a big Company. We try our hardest to stay small and frankly the pay is not as great as you may think it is. But we are there in our stores everyday to serve you. Do you know how hard that is? Get off your high horses, and look into what we have for you! As for you ex-coffee girl, what were you fired for that made you so bitter! Wrong fit abviously, you are not what we strive to be and I am glad you are no longer with Starbucks. One team, one purpose!