Starbucks on a Shrinking Course: Store Closures Part of the Transformation

The world-renowned coffee giant Starbucks plans to close about 1% of its stores, as revealed in an internal message from CEO Brian Niccol, announced as part of the "Back to Starbucks" transformation strategy. This decision also affects the prestigious Reserve Roastery and the Reserve store in the company's hometown of Seattle, as reported by the Seattle Times. According to Niccol, the stores that will be closed are those that do not meet customer and employee expectations for the physical environment or do not show financial potential. These measures are accompanied by the closure of 80 to 90 "Pick Up" stores, which were designed exclusively for mobile orders and quick pickups. Starbucks plans to update the app over the weekend to reflect the closures. The union Starbucks Workers United, which represents 12,000 baristas in 45 states and the District of Columbia, also announced that it would gather information on the closures and conduct negotiations regarding the impact on unionized stores. Shortly after the announcement, a publicly accessible Google document listed over 200 potential closure locations, while a Reddit thread already had over 230 comments. Many of the affected stores are located in California, with a total of 188 locations expected to close. By the end of the fiscal year, Starbucks will operate around 18,300 cafes. This is about 430 fewer than it had in June 2025.