How Starbucks became an American punchbag

The coffee chain is in the cross hairs of the culture wars but millions keep spending money there

Starbucks is now finding itself squarely in the cross hairs of America's culture wars and economic struggles. PHOTO: AFP
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Everybody hates Starbucks. The left, the right, even some of its millions of customers.

That's the reality that Mr Laxman Narasimhan will face when he arrives in October to begin six months of understudying founder Howard Schultz as "incoming chief executive" of the US$95 billion (S$133.75 billion) company.

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