Starbucks CEO denies reviews of cup and occasional shortages

Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson on Thursday denied reports the coffee company was running out of essential supplies, telling CNBC that it had enough cups and coffee for customers.

There is “no shortage of cups, no shortage of coffee,” said Johnson in an interview with Jim Cramer, which will be broadcast on “Mad Money”.

Johnson responded to previous reports – including one from the Wall Street Journal – that said some Starbucks stores were short of cups and coffee syrups, among other things, as traffic at Starbucks recovered from last year’s slowdown. The article quoted information from a few store clerks and an unnamed spokeswoman who said the scarcity was hampering select markets.

To be sure, Johnson said Starbucks continues to face operational challenges elsewhere that test the resilience of the company’s supply chain.

“We had some bottlenecks at the bakery, that’s certainly true,” he said. “If there’s one area we’ve focused on, it’s our delivery partners who put together breakfast rolls and some of the groceries in our bakery suitcase. We saw some pressure there.”

Starbucks stock rose 0.39% Thursday to close at $ 111.99. The stock is up less than 5% since the start of the year.