STARBUCKS is to close “some” of its 520 UK stores following a review of its global coffee shops.
On Thursday, the company confirmed it has launched a consultation over the proposed closure of a number of company-owned UK stores, putting workers at the sites at risk.
It came as the group revealed it will reduce its portfolio of stores in North America by 1%[/caption]
However, it did not disclose how many stores will be affected and where these are located.
The hospitality business runs around 520 company-owned stores in the UK, as well as franchise-owned coffee shops.
It came as the group revealed it will reduce its portfolio of stores in North America by 1% this year and will cut around 900 North American head office jobs.
The company had 18,734 North American locations at the end of June, and the company said it will end September with 18,300 stores.
In a statement, Starbucks said: “As outlined in a letter shared by Brian Niccol (chief executive), we have conducted a review of our coffeehouse portfolio in North America and certain stores have been identified for closure where it has not been possible to create the physical environment customers and partners (employees) want, and where there isn’t a path to financial performance.
“In Europe Middle East and Africa, we have conducted a similar review of our company-operated store portfolio with the goal of ensuring that our stores are correctly located, generating appropriate levels of foot traffic and operating in the right formats.
“While the EMEA business is on track to meet its commitment to open 80 new stores in the UK and 150 across EMEA this financial year, some stores in the UK, Switzerland and Austria will close as a result of this portfolio review.”
Starbucks was founded in 1971 and today services more than 40,000 stores worldwide.
