Starbucks to start deliveries in Seattle

NEW YORK — Starbucks said it will start delivering to customers in select parts of Seattle and New York City later this year.

The details will be discussed at the coffee chain’s annual meeting Wednesday.

In Seattle, it said it will team up with a company called Postmates to deliver to homes and offices within specific areas. In New York City, delivery will be from existing or newly setup Starbucks shops in certain buildings, starting with the Empire State Building.

Starbucks Chief Digital Officer Adam Brotman said there will be no minimum purchase required, but that deliveries will require “a small flat fee.” He declined to say what the exact fee will be. Delivery workers will accept tips, too.

Brotman said the average time for deliveries will be 30 minutes, starting from when the order is placed.

For New York City, people will be able use a website to place orders. In Seattle, people would place orders via the company’s mobile app. The hours of operation for delivery are still being determined.

Here’s how it will work:

—There will be no minimum purchase required.

—There will be a small flat fee for delivery, but the exact amount hasn’t been determined.

—Delivery workers will accept tips.

—The average delivery time will be about 30 minutes starting with the placement of the order.

—Delivery hours are still to be determined.

—In New York City, the service will be available in office buildings, including the Empire State Building. People will be able to place their orders on websites from existing or newly built shops, the latter of which may have trimmed down menus. Starbucks workers will make the deliveries.

—In Seattle, the service will be available in specific areas, including homes and offices. Starbucks will partner with a company called Postmate to make the deliveries.

In the meantime, Starbucks Corp. also says it’s on track for a national rollout of mobile order-and-pay, which lets customers place orders through its apps ahead of time so that drinks and food are ready when they arrive at the store. The program was launched in Portland, Oregon, late last year. Starbucks Chief Financial Officer Scott Maw said the company expects to see a lift in sales as a result of mobile order-and-pay by late this year.

Mobile order-and-pay will launch in Canada this year as well, and be tested in the United Kingdom, according to the company.

2-for-1 stock split

Starbucks also is planning a 2-for-1 stock split, its first such move in almost a decade, after shares of the coffee-house chain reached a record high last month.

Investors of record on March 30 will receive an additional share for each one they hold, the company said Wednesday. The shares will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis April 9.

“This split is a direct reflection of the past seven years of increasing shareholder value,” Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz said. “Shareholders are experiencing an all-time high in value as we continue to deliver world-class customer service and, in turn, record profits and revenue.”

Starbucks’ action is an increasingly rare one in an American stock market that is dominated by institutional investors and exchange-traded funds, which don’t care about the absolute price of a share. Splits reached their apex in the 1990s when companies sought to broaden their appeal to individuals lured by the biggest bull market since the 1920s.

After Starbucks shares declined in 2007 and 2008, hurt by the recession and financial crisis, they have climbed for six straight years.

It is the company’s sixth 2-for-1 stock split since its initial public offering in 1992. The last one occurred in October 2005. While splits have become more rare, Starbucks isn’t the only major U.S. company that still relies on them. Apple Inc. and Visa Inc. have both announced splits in the past year.

Because of the change, Starbucks’ previously announced second-quarter earnings projection will equate to 32 cents a share, or 32 cents to 33 cents when excluding some items. For the year, profit will be $1.77 to $1.79 a share, or $1.55 to $1.57 when adjusted.