尊敬的用戶您好，這是來自FT中文網的溫馨提示：如您對更多FT中文網的內容感興趣，請在蘋果應用商店或谷歌應用市場搜尋「FT中文網」，下載FT中文網的官方應用。
The coffee grounds have settled on the boardroom drama at Starbucks and a victor has emerged. Take a bow Howard Schultz.
星巴克(Starbucks)董事會大戲中的咖啡渣塵埃已經落定，勝利者已經出現。霍華德•舒爾茨(Howard Schultz)可以鞠躬謝幕了。
In a major shake-up, the Seattle-based coffee giant has named current Chipotle boss Brian Niccol as its new chief executive. He will replace Laxman Narasimhan, who leaves immediately.
這家總部位於西雅圖的咖啡巨擘發生重大人事變動，任命現任奇波雷墨西哥燒烤(Chipotle Mexican Grill)的老闆布萊恩•尼科爾(Brian Niccol)爲其新任首席執行長。他將取代立即離職的拉克斯曼•納拉辛漢(Laxman Narasimhan)。
Niccol is highly regarded for the turnaround at Chipotle — and his appointment should (at least temporarily) quieten the ambitions of Elliott Investment Management. The activist, with a stake in Starbucks, had been in talks with Narasimhan.
尼科爾因爲將奇波雷扭虧爲盈而備受讚譽，他的任命應該會（至少是暫時地）平息埃利奧特投資管理公司(Elliott Investment Management)的雄心。這家持有星巴克股份的維權投資機構先前一直在與納拉辛漢談判。
It is Schultz who appears victorious: the former CEO, major shareholder and vociferous critic of Narasimhan had opposed any deal with Elliott. The fact that Niccol’s appointment was not discussed with Elliott (but came with Schultz’s full support) suggests that the former may have been outmanoeuvred.
勝利者似乎是舒爾茨：這位星巴克前首席執行長、主要股東和納拉辛漢的強烈批評者反對與埃利奧特達成任何協議。星巴克並沒有與埃利奧特討論尼科爾的任命事宜（但這得到了舒爾茨的全力支援），表明埃利奧特可能已被智取。
The market made its feelings clear. Starbucks’ shares shot up nearly 23 per cent to erase its losses for the year while Chipotle fell more than 13 per cent.
市場表達了明確的意見。星巴克的股價收盤上漲24.5%，抹去了今年的虧損，而奇波雷的股價一度下跌逾13%。
That, in part, reflects Niccol’s tenure at Chipotle. Since taking the helm in March 2018, sales at the Mexican-inspired chain have more than doubled to hit nearly $10bn last year. Profits are up 600 per cent. Even accounting for Tuesday’s drop, those who bought Chipotle shares on Niccol’s appointment would be sitting on a 873 per cent gain.
這一定程度上反映了尼科爾在奇波雷的業績。自2018年3月上任以來，這家墨西哥風味連鎖店的銷售額翻了一番，去年接近100億美元。利潤成長了600%。即使考慮到週二的下跌，那些在尼科爾上任時購買奇波雷股票的人也將獲得873%的收益。
His experience should transfer well to Starbucks’ problems in the US: understaffing, customer frustration with long waiting times, and tired-looking stores are execution rather than demand issues. They can be overcome: Starbucks needs to invest in staff and improve its store operations and efficiency.
他的經驗應該能夠很好地用於應對星巴克在美國的問題：人手不足、顧客對長時間等待感到沮喪、以及店面看起來疲於應付，這些都是執行問題而不是需求問題。它們是可以克服的：星巴克需要投資於員工，並改善其店鋪運營和效率。
By contrast, the company’s troubles in China — its second biggest market — are deeper-rooted. Competition from foreign and local brands is stiff, while the economy is slowing. Revenue at its 7,306 Chinese stores fell 11 per cent during the fiscal third quarter to June.
相比之下，該公司在中國（其第二大市場）的困境更爲深層。外國和本土品牌的競爭激烈，同時中國經濟成長在放緩。截至6月的第三財務季度，其在中國的7306家門店的收入下降了11%。
For Niccol, the quick pick-me-up might be to slow expansion plans in China. Starbucks has more than doubled its store count there over the past six years. BTIG analyst Peter Saleh reckons Starbucks has invested more than $400mn a year — or 20-25 per cent of the company’s capital spend — to expand.
對於尼科爾來說，快速的提振方式可能是減緩在中國的擴張計劃。過去6年裏，星巴克在中國的門店數量增加了一倍以上。BTIG分析師彼得•薩萊(Peter Saleh)估計，星巴克每年投資超過4億美元用於擴張，佔公司資本支出的20%-25%。
Fixing Starbucks will not be as straightforward as Chipotle. The coffee chain is a far bigger beast, with 39,477 locations worldwide. Chipotle has just 3,530 outlets, mostly in the US.
修復星巴克不會像修復奇波雷那樣直截了當。這家咖啡連鎖店是一隻更大的野獸，在全球擁有39477家門店。奇波雷只有3530家門店，大部分位於美國。
But Niccol’s appointment will buy the company some time to start addressing US problems and pare back in China. But his task comes with another complication: a backseat barista who has just secured what looks like a win.
但是尼科爾的任命將爲該公司爭取一些時間，來解決美國的問題並在中國進行裁減。但是他的任務還帶來了另一個複雜因素：一個剛剛取得了表面勝利的後座咖啡師。