Starbucks to Close 250 Outlets, What is the Issue?
Starbucks has announced plans to trim its store network, this time in North America. The US-based coffee giant will close around 250 outlets deemed to be underperforming as part of an effort to overhaul its business.
This figure represents approximately 1% of Starbucks’ total stores in North America. The company currently operates more than 18,000 stores in the region.
This closure marks the second round of reductions since Brian Niccol took over as Starbucks CEO approximately two years ago. Under his leadership, the company is seeking to revitalise its US business by improving the customer experience, including direct interactions within the stores.
Starbucks Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams stated that the company has conducted a review of its store portfolio in North America.
“We have carefully reviewed our coffee shop portfolio in North America and identified locations where we feel we cannot consistently provide the experience we want for our customers and partners, or do not see a path to acceptable financial performance,” Grams said in a letter to employees, as reported by CNBC International on Friday (25/09/2026).
Specific details regarding which locations will be affected by the closures have not yet been disclosed. However, most of these stores are expected to cease operations before the end of Starbucks’ 2026 fiscal year in late September.
Alongside these closures, Starbucks is also reducing its net new store growth projections for the 2026 fiscal year. The company now expects to add only 440 net new stores.
This figure is lower than the previous projection of 600 to 650 stores. These new outlets will be sourced from international markets.
Despite the closures in North America, Starbucks maintains that it still sees significant long-term growth opportunities in the region. The company is also preparing a number of new stores for its next expansion phase.
“The company continues to see significant long-term growth opportunities in North America and is actively developing a strong new coffee shop network,” Starbucks wrote in a regulatory filing.
The closure of hundreds of stores will not come without a cost. Starbucks estimates it will incur restructuring costs of approximately US$300 million (around Rp5 trillion) related to these measures.
Approximately US$200 million of the total cost relates to early lease terminations and severance payments to affected employees. Meanwhile, the remaining US$100 million consists of non-cash costs arising from the disposal and impairment of company-owned store assets.