On Barrons ~~~~ CHANGE BREWS AT STARBUCKS ~~~~

Starbucks (SBUX) may be in Clover, but the changes it introduced at Wednesday’s company conference aren’t going to push shareholders into the clover anytime soon. The coffee retailer unveiled a few new wrinkles in its business strategy and retailer interior design, including the deployment of a new line of single-cup coffee makers, and the purchase of an espresso-machine manufacturer that makes the so-called Clover line of appliances. McAdams Wright Ragen, the Seattle investment boutique that covers companies in Seattle, where Starbucks is based, said the changes, which also include plans to launch the equivalent of an on-line suggestion box, ”on paper, appear to be a little less t! han dramatic,” and likely won’t ”move the needle” on valuation anytime soon. But the firm said it liked the thrust of the moves, and believe they could pay off down the road for shareholders. Likewise, Cowen said the ”hockey-stick ramp” in the stock price is still several years away, and the moves heighten the risk of some modest disruption to EPS visibility in the short term, but nevertheless acclaimed what it described as bold action.





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