Starbucks will close 250 more cafes in North America in its latest drive to improve financial returns, the coffee company has announced.
The chain described the closures as a culling of underperforming venues as it seeks to improve results in North America under Brian Niccol, who joined as CEO in September 2024.
"We have carefully reviewed our North America coffeehouse portfolio and identified locations where we do not believe we can consistently deliver the experience we want for customers and partners or where we don't see a path to acceptable financial performance," said Chief Operating Officer Mike Grams.
Grams described the closures as equivalent to one percent of the chain's 18,000 North American cafes.
The closures announced on Sept. 24 follow a move a year ago to eliminate hundreds of other North American stores when Niccol also announced that 900 administrative jobs would be eliminated.
Starbucks had previously planned to open between 600-650 stores this year around the world. But in a securities filing Thursday, the company, which has 41,000 stores globally, said it would open around 440 shops in fiscal 2026.
