Sept 24 (Reuters) – Starbucks will close 250 underperforming coffeehouses in North America, the company said in a regulatory filing on Thursday, as CEO Brian Niccol deepens his turnaround push to revive sales.
The closures come a year after Starbucks shut down several underperforming stores in the region, including its iconic Seattle roastery, in a restructuring effort that was estimated to cost the company about $1 billion.
The company disclosed on Thursday that the fresh closures will result in about $300 million in restructuring charges, and represent about 1% of its roughly 18,000 stores in North America. It plans to finish most of the closures by the end of fiscal year 2026.
Starbucks also expects fiscal 2026 global net new store openings for company-operated and licensed coffeehouses to be about 440, compared with its earlier target of 600 to 650 openings.
“This is a sensible but costly step in Starbucks’ turnaround,” said Lale Akoner, global market strategist at eToro, who cautioned that if sales and margin improvement stall, investor patience could fade quickly.
Niccol completed two years as CEO of Starbucks in September. The former Chipotle Mexican Grill executive has tried to draw back customers with shorter wait times and simpler menus in the United States as part of his “Back to Starbucks” plan.
Starbucks also invested in store and kitchen operations, and has tried to manage costs by cutting several corporate roles and shutting down some regional offices.
As of July this year, the company has reported four straight quarters of comparable sales growth. Customer traffic increased across all income cohorts, Niccol said in April.
Its pricey lattes have resisted a broader slowdown in non-essential spending, particularly among lower-income consumers in the United States as households buckle under high costs of fuel and food.
“Niccol has already shown progress … the next proof point is converting that momentum into stronger margins,” said Brian Jacobsen, chief economic strategist at Annex Wealth Management.
(Reporting by Juveria Tabassum and Neil J Kanatt in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli and Devika Syamnath)
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