Starbucks CEO Gives Up Title to Focus Abroad

Howard Schultz, who built Starbucks Corp. from an obscure local coffee chain into an espresso empire with more than 2,800 stores around the world, said Thursday that he would step down as chief executive to lead the company’s charge on the vast overseas market.

Schultz, 46, who will stay with the Seattle-based company as chairman, said he would step down as chief executive June 1. Orin Smith, the chief operating officer and president, is to succeed Schultz.

Starbucks opened its first store overseas in 1996 in Tokyo and now has 350 coffee shops in Asia, the Middle East and Britain.

It plans to eventually hang its green mermaid logo on more than 20,000 stores, half of those outside North America.

Starbucks also said Thursday that March sales at stores open for at least a year rose 10% over last year.

Schultz said the management change announcement formalized a shift that had already taken place inside Starbucks.

Starbucks stock fell $2 to close at $37.54 on Nasdaq. Schultz announced his job change after the close of U.S. markets.