Appearing at WIRED's business conference, Disruptive by Design, Howard Schultz recounted the challenges of leading the Starbucks transformation following his return to the company as CEO in 2008. Schultz's talk included how the company sought to embrace social and digital media, and how Schultz has come to recognize customers' desire for a better in-store Wi-Fi experience. With that in mind, on July 1 the company will turn on free Wi-Fi through AT&T in all U.S. company-operated stores.
Building on the Wi-Fi update, Schultz also revealed plans for a new online customer experience called the Starbucks Digital Network, in partnership with Yahoo!, which will debut later this fall. The online experience — available only in U.S. company-operated Starbucks stores — will give customers free unrestricted access to various paid sites and services such as wsj.com, exclusive content and previews, free downloads, local community news and activities on their laptops, tablets or smart phones.
