<SEC-DOCUMENT>0001096906-24-000432.txt : 20240313
<SEC-HEADER>0001096906-24-000432.hdr.sgml : 20240313
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20240313135130
ACCESSION NUMBER:		0001096906-24-000432
CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE:	PX14A6G
PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT:		1
FILED AS OF DATE:		20240313
DATE AS OF CHANGE:		20240313
EFFECTIVENESS DATE:		20240313

SUBJECT COMPANY:	

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			STARBUCKS CORP
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0000829224
		STANDARD INDUSTRIAL CLASSIFICATION:	RETAIL-EATING & DRINKING PLACES [5810]
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	07 Trade & Services
		IRS NUMBER:				911325671
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			WA
		FISCAL YEAR END:			0927

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		PX14A6G
		SEC ACT:		1934 Act
		SEC FILE NUMBER:	000-20322
		FILM NUMBER:		24745418

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		P O BOX 34067
		CITY:			SEATTLE
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98124-1067
		BUSINESS PHONE:		2064471575

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		2401 UTAH AVENUE SOUTH
		CITY:			SEATTLE
		STATE:			WA
		ZIP:			98134

FILED BY:		

	COMPANY DATA:	
		COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:			Bowyer Research, Inc.
		CENTRAL INDEX KEY:			0001996368
		ORGANIZATION NAME:           	
		IRS NUMBER:				463874783
		STATE OF INCORPORATION:			PA
		FISCAL YEAR END:			1231

	FILING VALUES:
		FORM TYPE:		PX14A6G

	BUSINESS ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		6300 SMITHFIELD STREET
		CITY:			MCKEESPORT
		STATE:			PA
		ZIP:			15135
		BUSINESS PHONE:		412-751-8603

	MAIL ADDRESS:	
		STREET 1:		6300 SMITHFIELD STREET
		CITY:			MCKEESPORT
		STATE:			PA
		ZIP:			15135
</SEC-HEADER>
<DOCUMENT>
<TYPE>PX14A6G
<SEQUENCE>1
<FILENAME>bowy_px14a6g.htm
<DESCRIPTION>BOWYER RESEARCH - PX14A6G
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<DIV style=margin-left:72pt;width:468pt><P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'><B>Summary</B></P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>Bowyer Research urges shareholders to vote AGAINST Proposal 4, on the 2024 proxy ballot of Starbucks Corporation (&#8220;Starbucks&#8221; or the &#8220;Company&#8221;). The &#8220;Resolved&#8221; clause of Proposal No. 4 states:</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'>Shareholders request that Starbucks issue a report examining any costs to Starbucks&#8217; reputation and any impact on its projected sales incurred as a result of its ongoing upcharge on plant-based milk. The board should summarize and present its findings to shareholders by the end of the third quarter of the current fiscal year. The report should be completed at a reasonable cost and omit proprietary information.</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>The supporting statement to this Proposal<SUP><A name=_ftnb1 /><A href=#_ftnf1><SUP>1</SUP></A></SUP>, submitted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA, henceforth the &#8220;Proponent&#8221;), contends that:</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'>1.</KBD>Upcharging on plant-based milks (oat milk, etc.) is contributing to a loss of revenue for Starbucks, particularly among Generation Z consumers.&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'>2.</KBD>Starbucks&#8217; upcharging on plant-based milks is contributing to racial inequality, due to racial disparity in lactose intolerance.&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'>3.</KBD>Starbucks&#8217; upcharging on plant-based milks impedes its &#8220;corporate responsibility.&#8221;&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'><B>These assertions, however, are based on false argumentation and analysis that:</B></P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'>1.</KBD>Ignores key realities of Starbucks&#8217; production process.&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'>2.</KBD>Levies bizarre and completely unsubstantiated allegations of discrimination.&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'>3.</KBD>Presupposes an activist framework for Starbucks&#8217; corporate responsibility.&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'><B>1.</B></KBD><B>The Proposal ignores key realities of Starbucks&#8217; production process.</B>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>In its proposal, PETA asserts that &#8220;[d]airy milk has been declining in popularity since the 1970s, and U.S. dairy consumption recently hit an all-time low.&#8221; The Proponent&#8217;s statement, while true, ignores an economic fact some may deem significant: plant-based milk is more expensive than dairy milk. Dairy milk is a centuries-old staple for American consumers&#8212;as such, its production </P>
<HR style=text-align:left;width:25%><P style='font:10pt Times New Roman;margin:0'><SUP><A name=_ftnf1 /><A href=#_ftnb1><SUP>1</SUP></A></SUP> https://s22.q4cdn.com/869488222/files/doc_financials/2024/ar/2024-proxy-statement.pdf</P>
<HR style='page-break-after:always;border:0;height:3pt;background-color:#909090;margin:8pt 0'><P style=line-height:0;margin:0></P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'><FONT style=font-size:12pt>is coordinated<SUP><A name=_ftnb2 /><A href=#_ftnf2><SUP>2</SUP></A></SUP> by an &#8220;exceptionally efficient supply chain&#8221; rendering it more affordable than modern plant-based options with still-developing supply chains and nascent production practices. While the Proponent argues several legitimate points regarding Gen-Z milk consumers and their spending power/preferences, they conveniently ignore the fact that oat milk can run double the price of traditional dairy options. PETA is asking Starbucks to ignore basic market realities and production prices to accommodate the preferences of the less than quarter of the American population<SUP><A name=_ftnb3 /><A href=#_ftnf3><SUP>3</SUP></A></SUP> who consume dairy alternatives <I>at all</I>. Plant-based milk is more expensive and therefore commands a premium from the buyer&#8212;bafflingly, these simple economic realities eluded PETA in its analysis.</FONT></P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'><B>2.</B></KBD><B>The Proposal levies bizarre and completely unsubstantiated allegations of discrimination.</B>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>In its supporting statement, PETA argues that &#8220;[m]ost people of color suffer from some form of lactose intolerance,&#8221; clearly stating that Starbucks&#8217; choice to charge more for a more expensive product is &#8220;penaliz[ing] individuals for who they are.&#8221; The Proponent&#8217;s supporting statements contain several unconnected and unsubstantiated assertions, the rationale for which eludes the logical reader. PETA asserts that &#8220;Gen Alpha parents have already begun talking with their children about issues like racism&#8221;&#8212; given that the oldest members of Generation Alpha<SUP><A name=_ftnb4 /><A href=#_ftnf4><SUP>4</SUP></A></SUP> were born in 2010, the reference to this ostensible cadre of 14-year-old Starbucks consumers as a pivotal stakeholder demographic remains an unclear reason for the Corporation to alter its practices.</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>Further, PETA&#8217;s implied premise that upcharging for plant-based milk furthers racial discrimination is similarly bizarre&#8212;in the absence of any racial animus, and given the fact that Starbucks actively offers a plethora of dairy alternatives at affordable market-based prices, the Proponent&#8217;s evidence-free <I>non sequitur</I> argument ought to be dismissed similarly.</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>&nbsp;</P>
<HR style=text-align:left;width:25%><P style='font:10pt Times New Roman;margin:0'><SUP><A name=_ftnf2 /><A href=#_ftnb2><SUP>2</SUP></A></SUP> https://www.marketplace.org/2023/11/17/why-does-oat-milk-cost-more-than-dairy-milk/</P>
<P style='font:10pt Times New Roman;margin:0'><SUP><A name=_ftnf3 /><A href=#_ftnb3><SUP>3</SUP></A></SUP>https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/agriculture/our-insights/similar-yet-different-meet-todays-consumer-of-dairy-and-alternatives</P>
<P style='font:10pt Times New Roman;margin:0'><SUP><A name=_ftnf4 /><A href=#_ftnb4><SUP>4</SUP></A></SUP> https://www.axios.com/2024/01/01/gen-alpha-charactertistics-technology-school-climate</P>
<HR style='page-break-after:always;border:0;height:3pt;background-color:#909090;margin:8pt 0'><P style=line-height:0;margin:0></P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'><B>3.</B></KBD><B>The Proposal presupposes an activist framework for Starbucks&#8217; corporate responsibility.</B>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>In its supporting statement, PETA asserts that &#8220;Failure to meet publicly stated corporate responsibility goals has been known to negatively impact consumer sentiment toward companies.&#8221; PETA&#8217;s clear implication from this Proposal is that Starbucks ought to ignore market factors and offer plant-based milk at a corporate loss to win over a younger customer base, and (ostensibly) contribute to PETA&#8217;s conception of climate/racial justice. Yet, this Proposal betrays a profoundly activist framework to Starbucks&#8217; fiduciary obligations: the Corporation&#8217;s ability to generate value for shareholders must be handcuffed to arbitrary price demands backed up by nothing more than vacuous references to cultural buzzwords.</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'><B>Conclusion</B></P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>As demonstrated, Proposal No. 4 fails to advance positive change for Starbucks and its shareholders by:</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'>1.</KBD>Ignoring key realities of Starbucks&#8217; production process.&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'>2.</KBD>Levying bizarre and completely unsubstantiated allegations of discrimination.&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0;margin-left:36pt'><KBD style='position:absolute;font:12pt Times New Roman;margin-left:-18pt'>3.</KBD>Presupposing an activist framework for Starbucks&#8217; corporate responsibility.&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>&nbsp;</P>
<P style='font:12pt Times New Roman;margin:0'>More expensive products command higher prices from consumers, and the food and beverage industry is no exception to this reality. PETA may have a rational basis for pushing its given narrative on dairy alternatives&#8212;although, to date, they have yet to provide any&#8212;but their current demands represent the kind of economically ignorant activism that, if humored, can hijack a brand&#8217;s operational philosophy, decrease value for shareholders, and create both financial and reputational risk to both Board and Company.</P>
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