Starbucks announced its Q4 earnings this week, and in the conference call, Howard Schultz, Chairman and Chief Global Strategist, expounded on length at Starbucks’ involvement in the music and now movie industry, and the retail and promotional strategies going ahead. Some excerpts from the transcript of the conf call, on Retail Stock Blog:

“Our flagship Santa Monica store was recently joined by second Starbucks Hear Music Coffeehouse, which opened in San Antonio, Texas in December of ‘05. A third Starbucks Hear Music Coffeehouse will open in Miami Florida later this month...”

On entry into movie retail: “We are not investing in a movie and we are not getting into the movie business in a traditional way. What we are doing is leveraging our vast retail store footprint and the cultural relevancy of the Starbucks brand to bring film to the public in a new way during the time when the film industry has been challenged. Starbucks will participate in all aspects of the marketing and distribution of this year film, and we will be an equity participant in the film’s success, not only at the box office but through the sale of the sound track and the DVD in all retail outlooks including our stores. The soundtrack will be available in early April and we will carry the DVD along with other traditional retails, when it becomes available later in the year.”

On the one movie distribution deal it has signed: “We agree that we would create a marketing campaign in store that was significantly less in dollars then we are going to get paid and we wanted to be able to participate not only in the front-end, but in the backend of the box-office received in all ancillary products if in fact the movie success is what we believe it to be. And this is a very important first step because, it sets the stage and the template by which other movie deals, assuming this will be successful.”

Related:

-- @ MIDEM: MidemNet Day One: Ken Lombard, President, Starbucks Entertainment

-- Starbucks To Start Promoting Movies In-Store; Online