Starbucks Valentine's Day 2012 Buycott Letter

February 14, 2012

Dear Starbucks Management:

I wanted to take a few minutes and tell you why I stopped by to support your business today.  As a common, law-abiding citizen who believes in my basic, fundamental, and enumerated civil right to self defense, I felt that it was my personal duty to stand up against the gun control lobby's bullying tactics and intimidation on the same day that they organized a boycott to patronize your location and let you know that, based on the latest credible national polls, the overwhelming majority of Americans do not subscribe to their ideologically anti-gun, extremist political philosophies.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/150341/record-low-favor-handgun-ban.aspx

I also wanted to provide a gentle reminder that a number of private businesses that supported the Open Carry Movement have benefited greatly from being associated with upholding every law-abiding American’s 2^nd Amendment Rights, both in financial terms and also through enhanced media exposure. You may remember that your own company, Starbucks, was one such enterprise that found itself to be the beneficiary of this increased social discussion when it decided that the Brady Campaign’s request to ban Open Carry in their stores was flatly turned down.  As a result, Starbucks reaped what amounted to whirlwind profits from this increased foot traffic and public prominence, especially in light of the harsh economic realities that we all faced in 2010 that continues to this very day.  Here are your full-year financial results from 2010 to help illustrate my point:

Full-Year 2010 Highlights:

• Total net revenues increased 9.5% to $10.7 billion
• Comparable store sales increased 7%, driven by a 4% increase in traffic and a 3% increase in average ticket
  • U.S. comparable store sales increased 7%, driven by a 3% increase in traffic and a 4% increase in average ticket
  • International comparable store sales increased 6%, driven by a 5% increase in traffic and a 1% increase in average ticket
• Consolidated operating margin improved 760 basis points to 13.3%; Non-GAAP operating margin increased 460 basis points to 13.8%
  • U.S. operating margin increased 960 basis points to 17.1%; U.S. Non-GAAP operating margin increased 640 basis points to 17.4%
  • International operating margin more than doubled to 9.8% in FY10; International Non-GAAP operating margin increased 480 basis points to 11.0%
• EPS increased 138% to $1.24 in FY10 from $0.52 in FY09; Non-GAAP EPS increased 60% to $1.28 from $0.80 in FY09
• Operating cash flow totaled $1.7 billion; Free cash flow exceeded $1.2 billion
• Starbucks returned approximately $460 million to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends

Feel free to verify these facts for yourself by clicking on the link found here:

http://news.starbucks.com/news/earnings.htm

Other than Starbucks, members of the Open Carry Movement are welcomed at local Jamba Juice, Extreme Pizza, Hometown Buffet, and many other chain-based establishments statewide. These well-known businesses have all benefitted from patrons from the Open Carry Movement.

Conversely, prominent chain establishments such as California Pizza Kitchen have suffered financially, even as they back the Brady Campaign’s attempts to ban Open Carry on their company premises. Seekingalpha.com reports on the state of California Pizza Kitchen’s Wall Street financials here,

“California Pizza Kitchen Inc. (CPKI), a leading casual dining restaurant chain, is slated to release its third quarter 2010 results on Thursday, November 11, after market close. The current Zacks Consensus Estimate for the third quarter is 19 cents, representing an annualized negative growth of 22.1%.”

Again, you can verify these facts for yourself by clicking on the link found here:

http://seekingalpha.com/article/236118-california-pizza-kitchen-ear...

As anyone can clearly determine for themselves, banning common, law-abiding gun owners from exercising their 2^ndAmendment Rights can clearly cost any company in a big way, especially during these dire economic times.

Despite the fact that no Open Carry advocate in the Golden State's entire 160+ year history has ever committed any violent crime while publicly armed, the gun control lobby still refuses to concede that Open Carry represents the will of the People and that this practice poses no threat whatsoever to public safety and actually actively decreases the incidence of violent crime in society at large.

Thank you for your time and due to your company's support of this law-abiding activity, I will continue to patronize your establishment well into the future.  The gun control lobby's bullying tactics and threats of intimidation are shameless, sickening, and un-American.  Please take comfort in knowing that, on this day and everyday, the overwhelming majority of Americans stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you at Starbucks.  Law-abiding gun owners all across the country vote with their wallets and will not soon forget those businesses who respect their basic, fundamental, and enumerated civil rights.

Sincerely,

(Your Name Here)