Starbucks Corporation American coffee chain giant announced that it is closing hundreds of its stores in the US and Canada, including about 17% of its Canadian locations, due to the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Starbucks speeding up the expansion of “convenience-led formats” such as curbside pickup, Drive-Thru and mobile-only pickup locations.
Starbucks Corp is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses that could close hundreds of stores across Canada over the next two years, the company said in a regulatory filing on Wednesday.
“We will restructure our company-operated business in Canada over the next two years, with the potential of up to 200 additional stores being closed, with some of those stores being repositioned,” the company said in its filing.
Starbucks also plans to close 400 stores over the next 18 months in the United States.
“As our business recovery continues, we are now laying the foundation for a more transformational phase — ‘restore and build resilience’ — enabling us to accelerate the transformation of our business,” the company explained to shareholders.
Starbucks said it typically closes about 100 company-operated stores each year in North America.
“As we navigate through the COVID-19 crisis, we are accelerating our store transformation plans to address the realities of the current situation, while still providing a safe, familiar and convenient experience for our customers,” Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said in a news release Wednesday.
While the company will close up to 400 locations, also speeding up the expansion of “convenience-led formats” such as curbside pickup, Drive-Thru and mobile-only pickup locations.
The company said its “U.S. store portfolio transformation” includes the expansion of “new Starbucks Pickup stores in dense markets including New York City, Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco, and convenience-led enhancements such as curbside, drive-thru and walk up windows in suburban areas.”
The first Pickup store has been operating in Penn Plaza in New York City since November 2019 and soon a second location in New York City will open at 42nd and Park near Grand Central Terminal.
