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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)董事会大戏中的咖啡渣尘埃已经落定，胜利者已经出现。霍华德•舒尔茨(Howard Schultz)可以鞠躬谢幕了。
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.
这家总部位于西雅图的咖啡巨头发生重大人事变动，任命现任奇波雷墨西哥烧烤(Chipotle Mexican Grill)的老板布莱恩•尼科尔(Brian Niccol)为其新任首席执行官。他将取代立即离职的拉克斯曼•纳拉辛汉(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.
尼科尔因为将奇波雷扭亏为盈而备受赞誉，他的任命应该会（至少是暂时地）平息埃利奥特投资管理公司(Elliott Investment Management)的雄心。这家持有星巴克股份的维权投资机构此前一直在与纳拉辛汉谈判。
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.
胜利者似乎是舒尔茨：这位星巴克前首席执行官、主要股东和纳拉辛汉的强烈批评者反对与埃利奥特达成任何协议。星巴克并没有与埃利奥特讨论尼科尔的任命事宜（但这得到了舒尔茨的全力支持），表明埃利奥特可能已被智取。
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.
市场表达了明确的意见。星巴克的股价收盘上涨24.5%，抹去了今年的亏损，而奇波雷的股价一度下跌逾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.
这一定程度上反映了尼科尔在奇波雷的业绩。自2018年3月上任以来，这家墨西哥风味连锁店的销售额翻了一番，去年接近100亿美元。利润增长了600%。即使考虑到周二的下跌，那些在尼科尔上任时购买奇波雷股票的人也将获得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.
他的经验应该能够很好地用于应对星巴克在美国的问题：人手不足、顾客对长时间等待感到沮丧、以及店面看起来疲于应付，这些都是执行问题而不是需求问题。它们是可以克服的：星巴克需要投资于员工，并改善其店铺运营和效率。
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，该公司在中国（其第二大市场）的困境更为深层。外国和本土品牌的竞争激烈，同时中国经济增长在放缓。截至6月的第三财务季度，其在中国的7306家门店的收入下降了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.
对于尼科尔来说，快速的提振方式可能是减缓在中国的扩张计划。过去6年里，星巴克在中国的门店数量增加了一倍以上。BTIG分析师彼得•萨莱(Peter Saleh)估计，星巴克每年投资超过4亿美元用于扩张，占公司资本支出的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.
修复星巴克不会像修复奇波雷那样直截了当。这家咖啡连锁店是一只更大的野兽，在全球拥有39477家门店。奇波雷只有3530家门店，大部分位于美国。
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.
但是尼科尔的任命将为该公司争取一些时间，来解决美国的问题并在中国进行裁减。但是他的任务还带来了另一个复杂因素：一个刚刚取得了表面胜利的后座咖啡师。