Starbucks Plans to Open 8 New Stores a Day

Starbucks Coffee Co. (Seattle) plans to expand its global store footprint from more than 38,000 stores today to 55,000 by 2030 – an average of 8 new stores daily. Those openings are part of the coffee company’s just-released long-term growth strategy, which it dubbed the “Triple Shot Reinvention with Two Pumps.”

“Over the past five years, we have opened 9000 stores – 7000 of which were outside of the U.S.,” said Michael Conway, Group President, International and Channel Development. “We will become truly global as we create the surround sound of omni-channel strategies in the 86 markets where we sell Starbucks Coffee.”

Worldwide expansion is one of the three “shots” in the company’s blueprint for its future; the other two involve taking steps to elevate the brand’s stature in the eyes of consumers and strengthen/scale its digital capabilities.

Those strategies, in turn, will be assisted by two enabling “pumps” that will “unlock efficiency and reinvigorate the partner culture,” the company says.

“I am immensely proud of the work we have done so far in reinventing and re-founding the company for its next phase of growth. I am excited about our multiple paths to revenue growth and earnings, which should give you confidence in our ability to meet our goals,” CEO Laxman Narasimhan said during the company’s presentation to investors in New York.

The company’s growing store portfolio will include what the company describes as “more purpose-defined stores,” as well as an accelerated renovation schedule.

“We see an opportunity to better leverage our footprint to serve the evolving needs of our customers,” said Sara Trilling, EVP and President of Starbucks North America. “Innovation in our store formats, to purpose defined stores like pick-up, drive-thru only, double-sided drive-thru, and delivery-only allows us to better meet our customers where they are at through differentiated experiences. To capture that demand we will build more new stores – with new formats, in new cities and cities we’re already in. To be clear, Starbucks has not saturated the U.S. market.”

Indeed, the company plans to grow its U.S. store count from an expected 16,300 by its next fiscal year to roughly 20,000 over the long term.