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The '5·18 Tank Day' incident involving Starbucks Korea continues to have significant repercussions. Following the incident, Starbucks' sales have sharply declined, and the stock price of its parent company, E-Mart, has also been on a downward trend. In particular, concerns are growing over the financial impact on Starbucks as refunds for customers' prepaid balances are expected.
According to an analysis by AI company IGAWorks on the 27th, the estimated card payment amount for Starbucks in the week following the Tank Day incident was 23.69 billion won, a 26.3% decrease compared to the previous week. This indicates that the sales drop is severe, coinciding with a consumer boycott. Starbucks' gifticon has lost its top position on KakaoTalk Gift and has fallen to 8th place.
E-Mart's stock price has also been significantly affected. Recently, E-Mart's stock surged after announcing its first-quarter results, but it has since turned downward following the emergence of the Tank Day incident. Notably, despite Chairman Jeong Yong-jin's apology and the Shinsegae Group's announcement of an investigation, the stock price has continued to decline, increasing market anxiety.
Starbucks has announced that it will conduct refunds for customers' prepaid balances from June 1 to June 14. This refund will be conducted unconditionally, and customers can apply for refunds through the Starbucks mobile app. This appears to be a measure to address customer dissatisfaction.
As of the end of last year, Starbucks held 427.5 billion won in prepaid funds, which reportedly generated considerable interest income. However, if the boycott continues and many customers request refunds, significant impacts on Starbucks' cash liquidity are anticipated.
Ultimately, it seems that Starbucks will need to make various efforts to regain customer trust and recover sales in light of this incident. If the boycott persists, concerns about Starbucks' future may grow even more.