Starbucks to shutter 250 North American stores as part of turnaround
Starbucks will close about 250 U.S. and Canadian locations this week, reducing its North American store count by roughly 1%, while accelerating café redesigns and planning a new technology hub in India.
Chief operating officer Mike Grams told staff in a blog post and internal letter that the coffee chain will close 250 stores in the United States and Canada this week, trimming its North American footprint by about one percent. Grams said the company had "carefully reviewed our North America coffeehouse portfolio and identified locations where we do not believe we can consistently deliver the experience we want for customers and partners or where we don't see a path to acceptable financial performance."
The closures follow a similar reduction a year earlier and bring the total number of North American stores to 18,371, down from 18,734 a year ago. At the same time, Starbucks said it will speed up a redesign program that adds chairs and a cozier atmosphere to cafés, targeting at least 1,500 "uplifts" by the end of fiscal 2026 and expanding the effort in fiscal 2027.
The company also announced plans to open a technology hub in India next year. Recent earnings showed same-store sales growth of 7.9% in the third quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, and analysts such as William Blair's Sharon Zackfia noted the closures could modestly aid sales growth while maintaining an Outperform rating on the stock.