Starbucks closed all of their outlets in Israel because they support Arab countries

purpose.

As evidenced by the e-mail quoted above, Starbucks drew criticism in the U.S. for the closure. In the U.S. anything that smacks of preference bestowed upon Arab interests or short shrift given to Israeli interests is perceived as something that needs be protested. This simplified world view reduces complex matters to ones of good guys versus bad guys, and that this system proves wholly useless when other factors interfere does little to lessen its comfort value.

Starbucks didn't remove itself from Israel because it was pro-Arab or anti-Israeli; it did so because this was the business decision that appeared to make the best sense. Although the corporation gave somewhat muddled explanations for its pull-out from Israel — sometimes citing the danger of terrorist attacks, sometimes making passing mention of "operational challenges" — the reasons for the retreat were Starbucks' difficulties in dealing with its Israeli partner and the underperformance of its six stores in that country. (Starbucks was a latecomer to an already-saturated Israeli market, didn't adapt well to local market conditions, and offered little to distinguish itself from its competition except higher prices). As Chief Financial Officer Michael Casey said about the cessation of Starbuck's operations in Israel, "It's a difficult place to do business, as you can imagine. And we've had some disagreements of philosophy with the partner. You put those two together and we just decided it was a good time to stop."

As Starbuck now says of the decision on its "Facts about Starbucks in the Middle East" web page:

Starbucks continues to perform well in Arab countries. Though one might suppose anti-American sentiment would undercut the coffee maker's business there, its product has proved popular even in countries where Americans are not well loved. Since Starbucks opened its first overseas outlet in 1996, it has developed into an international presence with more than 23,000 stores worldwide in 65 countries outside North America such as Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.

All of this has led to additional opposing rumors, that Starbucks either supports Israel through financial contributions (to that country's military) or that it is a "Muslim operation" whose CEO has bragged about his hatred for Israel:

Neither is correct: although Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz may have personal sympathies for Israel, the company does not contribute money to that country, nor does it support (either morally or financially) other countries in that region:

Barbara "coffee to go" Mikkelson