Starbucks Shares Fall 2% After Botched South Korea Promotion Sparks Boycott Threats
SBUX sits 30% above its 52-week low of $77.99.
Summary
Starbucks shares fell 2% after a "Tank Day" promotion in South Korea was deemed insensitive, coinciding with the anniversary of a 1980 massacre. This misstep in Starbucks' third-largest market has sparked threatened boycotts and created significant reputational risk. The company's South Korean licensee has apologized and is investigating the incident. The market will watch how Starbucks manages the fallout and whether sales in the region are materially impacted.
At the time of this announcement, SBUX was trading at $101.24 on NASDAQ in the Trade & Services sector, with a market capitalization of approximately $115.4B. The 52-week trading range was $77.99 to $108.88. This news item was assessed with negative market sentiment and an importance score of 7 out of 10. Source: Dow Jones Newswires.