Interim CEO Howard Schultz says the Seattle-based coffee chain anticipates robust outlet growth in the US – but expansion in Starbucks’ second largest market, China, looks set to drive the company’s goal to reach 45,000 stores over the next three years
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Starbucks interim CEO Howard Schultz at the company's 2022 Investor Day | Photo credit: Starbucks
Starbucks’ global store count is expected to increase by approximately 7% a year between 2023 and 2025, with 10% revenue growth forecast over the same period.
Interim CEO Howard Schultz shared details of Starbucks’ reinvention strategy at its biennial Investor Day, stating that the company is targeting 45,000 stores globally by the end of 2025 and 55,000 by 2030. The company is currently approaching 35,000 stores internationally.
The company said that expansion will predominantly be driven by growth across the US, where the chain currently operates 15,650 stores. Starbucks said that purpose-built store formats, such as drive-thru and curbside pickup, are expected to deliver net new store growth of 3% to 4% annually in the country, representing approximately 2,000 new US stores by 2025.
However, Starbucks also expects its store count in China to increase by 50% to reach 9,000 outlets by 2025, with net unit growth of at least 13% annually. The number of Starbucks stores in China is set to reach 6,000 by end of September 2022.
Starbucks forecasts sales in China to nearly double over the next three years following the impact of pandemic-related lockdowns over the last two years.
"Through the launch of the Starbucks China 2025 purpose-driven growth agenda, we reaffirm our strong confidence in the prospects and opportunities of the Chinese market with concrete commitments and actions," said Belinda Wong, Chairwoman, Starbucks China.
Schultz introduced incoming CEO Laxman Narasimhan to investors. Narasimhan will officially join Starbucks on 1 October 2022 and work closely with Schultz before assuming the CEO role in April 2023.