Starbucks plans to add 100 UK stores next year

BLOOMBERG

Starbucks Corp is investing £30 million ($36.1 million) to open and renovate coffee shops in the UK, pushing on with expansion in a market where profit has dropped due to soaring costs of coffee beans and labour.
Starbucks aims to add 100 stores in the UK in the next year, the US coffee chain said as it reported results for the year through October 2 for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region. Sales rose above pre-pandemic levels for the first time.
The coffee chain is investing in smaller stores and drive-throughs, Duncan Moir, president of Starbucks Europe, Middle East and Africa, said in the statement. Across the region, he plans to open 300 new stores.  “While we are cautious about the macro-economic environment, we will continue to invest to grow the region this year,” he said.
The expansion plan is a sign of confidence in the UK market, where the company has 1,066 stores. The Sunday Times reported last year that Starbucks was considering selling its UK business, but the coffee chain said at the time it wasn’t in a formal sales process.
While revenue in the UK rose 37% to £449.3 million in the past financial year, pretax profit fell 22% to £10.4 million, as higher labour and raw material costs ate into margins. More than a quarter of the chain’s shops in the UK are drive-through locations. Office, travel and inner-city locations have been slow to recover, as flexible working has continued to keep commuters at home for part of the week.