Starbucks finally said how many U.S. stores it closed: The list of locations was bigger than many estimates

Starbucks released its fourth-quarter earnings on Wednesday, October 30, finally providing an official figure for its recent wave of store closings. 

The Seattle-based coffee chain shuttered a total of 627 locations worldwide over the three months, ending up with a net closure of 107 stores. More than 90% of impacted locations were in North America, Starbucks said.

In the United States, 520 stores were shuttered as part of the company’s turnaround efforts, Starbucks disclosed in an earnings release. Starbucks now runs 40,990 stores globally and 16,864 in the United States.

Estimates of store closures varied widely

In September, Starbucks announced the shuttering of stores in North America, but it didn’t identify specific locations or an exact figure.

Working with limited information, news outlets made a number of different estimates at the time, ranging from around 100 closures to over 400. The number disclosed by Starbucks this week is above even many of the higher-end estimates.

Moderators of the subreddit r/Starbucks, meanwhile, had created a crowdsourced Google Doc for confirmed closures. 

When reached by Fast Company for comment on store closure locations, a Starbucks representative said the company does “not have that to share.”

The representative pointed to a September blog post from CEO Brian Niccols and said, “The best place for up-to-date hours of operation for our coffeehouses in the Starbucks app.”

All part of the plan

The significant number of store closures came as part of the company’s “Back to Starbucks” restructuring plan, which Niccols has been championing as key to growing the coffee chain’s foot traffic. 

In July’s third-quarter earnings report, Starbucks said that the plan “focuses on exceptional service, simplified routines, and deeper customer connections.”

For Starbucks, that means expanding the assistant manager role across U.S. stores, hiring 90% of retail workers internally, and a lot more seating. Yes, Starbucks wants to move away from machines and mobile orders to create a warm, inviting in-store experience. 

According to Niccol, it’s working.

“We’re a year into our ‘Back to Starbucks’ strategy, and it’s clear that our turnaround is taking hold,” he said in a statement. “Our return to global comp growth and the momentum we’re building give me confidence we’re on the right path to deliver the very best of Starbucks for our customers, partners and shareholders.”

U.S. stores fell 2% on comparable sales year-over-year (YOY) in quarter three, while this quarter saw comparable sales remain the same YOY. 

Shares of Starbucks Corporation (Nasdaq: SBUX) were up around 1.17% in early trading on Thursday. The stock is down roughly 7.62% year to date.

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