How Starbucks Plans to Reopen 90% of Stores by June and What the New Normal for its Coffee Shops will Look Like

Starbucks

As the US reopens business, Starbucks says it plans to have more than 90% of its locations open — with adjusted operations — by June 1.

Starbucks will begin opening stores next week, executives said on Tuesday. However, the stores will look very different than pre-COVID-19 coffee shops. Most stores will not even allow customers inside, with customers picking up their orders at the door or via drive-thru.

Starbucks closed more than half of its stores in the US and Canada due to the coronavirus pandemic, announcing on March 20 that only drive-thru locations would remain open. Locations with drive-thrus shut their interior areas, resulting in an average sales decline of roughly 25% per location, according to executives.

“As we reopen in the US, I think we anticipate that the stores are going to reopen across the nation at a faster rate” than in China, CEO Kevin Johnson said on a call with investors on Tuesday. “But the format we’re going to use … in each store is going to be dependent on sort of what’s happening in that particular store.”

Starbucks is making major changes to allow customers to return to the coffee giant. Here is what the new normal at Starbucks will look like.

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Author: Kate Taylor