Campaigns have escalated on social media platforms calling for a boycott of the American “Starbucks” coffee chain in the Arab world, after the famous chain filed a lawsuit against its employees’ union, on charges of supporting Palestine.
The chain has more than 35,000 global solutions branches in 86 countries United States of America It alone has more than 9,000 branches, so its employees established a union that represents them before the company’s management.
Since the first days of the Israeli aggression against Gaza strip On October 7, which came in response to an operation Al-Aqsa flood launched by the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades – the military wing of the Islamic Resistance Movement (agitation)-, The union declared its support for the Palestinian people, in accordance with the union’s principles that support rights and freedoms.
The union said in a statement published on its account on the “X” platform (formerly Twitter), that the union condemns all forms of occupation, displacement, apartheid, and the dangers of genocide that the Palestinians face.
But it seems that this statement and the union’s solidarity with the Palestinians did not please the parent company, so it responded to this position and what it called the union’s use of the company’s logo, by filing a lawsuit against its workers’ union, and published a statement on its official website.
She said in her statement, “With the continued violence against innocent people in the region, some people are linking these statements to us, and this is wrong, because the labor union and its members continue to use our name, logo, and intellectual property.”
The statement added, “As a result, Starbucks filed a complaint today with the US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. It indicated that the post published by the union does not represent the company’s position, and has no relation to it, and that the post harmed the company’s reputation and received negative attention from customers.” .
According to a report published by the “America Today” website, “Starbucks” considered that the statement published by the Starbucks union account regarding the war between Israel and Hamas harmed Starbucks’ reputation.
The website added that the union filed a federal lawsuit against the Starbucks coffee chain in the Seattle courts.
Soon after, news of the lawsuit filed by Starbucks management against the Palestine Workers Union spread on American social media platforms, and then spread to Arab platforms.
#Starbucks#Kuwait Sunday evening 🌚#Boycott_Starbucks ☕️☕️☕️ pic.twitter.com/jf71CPbjQs
– Abdul Razzaq Al Shayji (@DrAlshayji) October 23, 2023
The news of the lawsuit sparked a state of anger in the Arab street, which was reflected on social media platforms, launching campaigns calling for a boycott of Starbucks cafes in several Arab and Islamic countries, and other countries.
Indeed, people have begun posting video clips showing Starbucks stores in their countries devoid of visitors compared to the past, due to the reputation enjoyed by the Starbucks coffee chain across the world.
🇵🇸🇶🇦| Starbucks branches in #Qatar Empty of customers#BoycottStarbucks | #StarbucksBoycott#Gaza_crying_for_help | #Nadeeb_Qatar | #Palestinepic.twitter.com/dJDvIOC76T
– Nadeeb Qatar (@NadeebQa) October 24, 2023
After the clips spread, the controversy returned again about the franchise owners being harmed by the boycott, and that they are the ones who bear the full losses, and that the parent company is not harmed by these campaigns, according to some of the comments that we monitored for you.
Are the branches owned by the company or by a Kuwaiti agent? For example, in Saudi Arabia, they are 100% owned by a Saudi citizen.
– Abu Badr (@YcoZBabKetUWcxc) October 26, 2023
To further understand the boycott campaigns and calls, in the following clip, Al Jazeera Net monitored the opinion of journalist Muhammad Afzaz, editor of the economics page, on the Al Jazeera Net website, about the meaning of economic boycott, and what is its purpose? Does it affect the institutions that are boycotted?
After boycott campaigns in several Arab countries, Starbucks in the region issued a statement in which it commented on the issue of their support for the Israeli occupation army or the Israeli government, saying, “It is just a malicious rumor that has no connection to the truth. Neither Starbucks nor Howard Schultz provides any kind of financial support.” To the Israeli government, or to the Israeli army.
The statement indicated, “Starbucks did not send a portion of its profits to the Israeli government or the Israeli army, and that these are just rumors that have no connection to the truth.”
The company added, “Starbucks has been operating in the Middle East since 1999 through an exclusive franchise agreement with its business partner, Alshaya Group in Kuwait.”
She added, “Despite being an American company, it is proud to be a global company that has strengthened its presence in 86 countries around the world, including nearly 1,900 cafes in 11 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, with more than 19,000 employees working.”
According to the American “International Fast Food Brands” website, there is no longer a need for Starbucks franchise fees, after the company moved from the traditional franchise model to a new model in its relationship with licensed stores.
However, the average licensing fee for this type of license from Starbucks is approximately $315,000, plus additional financial requirements..
Source : Al Jazeera + Websites + social media sites
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