Starbucks Credits McD's, Cost Savings for Sales Improvement†

CEO Says Golden Arches' McCafe Launch Drew More Customers to Coffee Category

Advertising Age, July 21, 2009 — Starbucks Coffee Co. appears to be coming out of freefall — thanks, in part, to marketing by McDonald's. In a third-quarter-earnings call this afternoon, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz credited margin improvements, cost savings and attention brought to the category by its rival's big-budget McCafe launch with helping to improve Starbucks' same-store sales. The chain's same-store sales fell 6% during its fiscal third quarter in the U.S., but that still bests the prior quarter, when same-store sales were down 8%