By Thomas Paulson, Head of Market Insights Lately, we’ve read some commentary that CEO Brian Niccol’s plan to turn Starbucks around has failed to turn the business, because the brand has lost some wallet share. However, Niccol didn’t plan an immediate turn; he has planned for a long-term sustained improvement in the business. A key strategy of the plan is to return Starbuck’s status as a “third place,” which in a fashion is customer love for the brand.