Live-Blogging the Starbucks Annual Meeting: Schulz Takes The Stage

The curtain is officially up on the Starbucks annual shareholders' meeting.

The stage is set like a Starbucks: earth-toned walls, those blond wood tables and chairs that we've all come to know and love. "Here Comes The Sun" plays above a slideshow. Happy Starbucks customers! Happy baristas! Happy Starbucks shareholders!

Then Howard Schulz takes the stage to deafening applause.

"Thank you. I didn't know what to expect," he says, as the noise dies down.

Then he starts right into it: how the economy is affecting the consumer. How the company has not met your expectations, or his. How Starbucks has "evolved to a culture of mediocrity and bureaucracy." How he humbly shares your concern about how your investment. There's a good measure of contrition, but paired with optimism.

Then he starts in on the agenda for the meeting - those "five initiatives" that Starbucks has been hinting to so frequently in the past two months.

Schulz doesn't get into specifics (yet), but says that Starbucks plans to "reaffirm its leadership position in all things coffee" and "elevate the relationships that our people have with customers."

Schulz also says, broadly, that Starbucks will begin to move into the health and wellness categories, in terms of food and beverages that they believe are "consistent with Starbucks customers' lifestyles." Schulz says that that includes, specifically, energy drinks.

Teaser: I had Starbucks PR talking about "espresso machines." Will Schulz announce that the coffee co is going back to manual machines?

Stay tuned, as the posts continue.

by Liz Gunnison

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