Starbucks To Add 12,000 Cafes In Next 5 Years

In a global expansion plan, Starbucks will look to add as many as 12,000 locations to its store roster over the next five years, a move that Bloomberg noted signals a growth strategy tied to brick-and-mortar presence.

Breaking down the details of that 12,000-store expansion, Starbucks will open 5,000 cafes in China, and that total buildout will bring the global count up by nearly half, to 37,000 stores. As has been reported, other avenues of revenue growth have been in place as well, ranging from mobile technology to premium edition coffee brands. Howard Shultz, who founded the company and is handing over the CEO role to current COO Kevin Johnson in April of next year, told investors at a presentation that “these are the early days of the growth and development of the company.” In addition to the store buildout, Starbucks will continue to emphasize food offerings, with new egg specialties and sandwich choices.

On the digital front, Starbucks will add what it termed a “conversational ordering system” to its mobile app, driven by artificial intelligence.

Financial goals for the next five years include sales growth of 10 percent annually and earnings growth at between 15 percent to 20 percent per year, accompanied by same-store sales growth in the mid-single-digit percentage range.