VENTI-SIZED PLANS
Starbucks hopes to almost double its stores, setting its sights on a total of 37,000 cafés worldwide,
Starbucks Corp. plans to add 12,000 locations globally in the next five years, signalling that the world’s largest coffee-shop chain still considers brick-and-mortar expansion a major part of its growth strategy.
The target includes expanding to 5,000 cafés in China, the Seattlebased company said Wednesday in a statement. The global goal would bring Starbucks’ total store base to 37,000, a 48-per-cent increase from its current level.
The plan shows that Starbucks — which has increasingly relied on mobile technology, food and its premium Reserve brand to fuel revenue gains in recent years — thinks that it still has room to grow.
The responsibility for executing the initiative will largely fall to chief operating officer Kevin Johnson, who’s taking over the chief executive officer role from founder Howard Schultz in April.
“These are the early days of the growth and development of the company,” Schultz said during a presentation to investors.
The company also laid out financial targets for the next five years. Revenue will rise by 10 per cent a year, earnings per share will expand 15 to 20 per cent, and comparable-store sales will increase by a mid-singledigit percentage.
Driving those gains will be an increased emphasis on food, a category where Starbucks projects it can double growth.
The company is introducing new items next year, including Sous Vide Egg Bites and a gluten-free breakfast sandwich. Sales of the chain’s existing breakfast sandwiches have doubled in the past four years.
On the digital front, Starbucks is adding a “conversational ordering system” powered by artificial intelligence to its mobile app.
“There’s so much more growth, so much more opportunity, leveraging technology, leveraging innovation, and you can see that come through in what we do,” Schultz said.
“These are the early days of the growth and development of the company.” HOWARD SCHULTZ STARBUCKS FOUNDER