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Starbucks to Shutter 250 North American Stores Amid Turnaround Efforts
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News18•26-09-2026, 11:30
Starbucks to Shutter 250 North American Stores Amid Turnaround Efforts
- •Starbucks plans to close approximately 250 North American locations as part of ongoing turnaround initiatives to reduce its store footprint.
- •The affected stores are either underperforming in customer/employee experience or are not financially viable, representing about 1% of Starbucks' 18,000 North American stores.
- •This move follows a similar scale of closures and corporate layoffs announced a year ago by CEO Brian Niccol as part of a $1 billion restructuring.
- •The closures are expected to incur about $300 million in charges, with $200 million for early lease terminations and employee severance.
- •Despite closures, Starbucks anticipates opening 440 new global locations this fiscal year and has seen a 7.9% rise in US same-store sales.
Key Questions Answered
Starbucks is closing around 250 locations in North America, representing about 1 percent of its roughly 18,000-store footprint in the region. The affected stores either failed to deliver the desired customer and employee experience or were not financially viable.
The latest store closures are expected to result in approximately USD 300 million in restructuring charges, according to a regulatory filing. Around USD 200 million of these charges will cover costs related to ending leases early and providing severance benefits to employees.
Starbucks is now expected to open about 440 new locations globally during the current fiscal year. This figure is lower than the company's earlier projection of 600 to 650 new openings.
