Breaking News

In a regulatory filing, Starbucks furnished a letter from Kevin Johnson, Starbucks president and CEO, to the company's partners, which states in part: "We are already well under way with the first action: reopening stores and recovering our business - a phase I have described in recent weeks as 'monitor and adapt.'...Second, we will accelerate the transformation of the 'third place' that was already underway before COVID-19 by adapting the Starbucks experience in ways that better serve customers, both in our stores and on-the-go. The pandemic has forced consumers to change behaviors by socially distancing, accommodating self-quarantine restrictions and preserving personal safety and well-being. Working from home has become the new normal for many of our customers, as has purchasing food and beverage online for either pickup or delivery. Since approximately 80% of our store transactions before the crisis were 'on the go,' driven in many ways by the use of the Starbucks mobile app, we were already adapting to new consumer trends that balance the need for convenience on-the-go with the desire for connection in our stores. Our digital leadership and ability to transform lower performing locations and formats to successful new store formats - i.e. relocate Starbucks stores from low-traffic malls to new, thriving Starbucks locations that combine the third place with drive-thrus - are unique strengths that we will lean into in the coming months. The plans we had for this broader store transformation over a three to five-year period will now occur over the next 12 to 18 months."

In a regulatory filing, Starbucks furnished a letter from Kevin Johnson, Starbucks president and CEO, to the company's partners, which states in part: "We know that after several weeks of lockdown and sheltering-in-place, consumers will seek experiences that are safe, familiar and convenient. The reopening of our stores in China, the U.S. and elsewhere have confirmed that to be true. Over the last week, we have now regained about 60-65% of prior year comparable U.S. store sales while reopening under modified operations and with reduced hours. In China, we have seen progress as well and our comparable store sales have reached about 80% of prior year levels, reflecting gradual improvements over the past several weeks. We learned in China that when we re-open stores, we begin a recovery process that starts with those safe, familiar and convenient experiences and grows from there. Our recovery progresses each week, and we know that it will take time to fully recover and post positive comparable store sales growth. For example, we began reopening a large number of stores in the U.S. in the second week of May and we are tracking slightly above our forecasted recovery curve. With the launch of our new summer menu today, we are hoping to begin welcoming back more customers to Starbucks. We are pleased with our progress, but we are by no means immune to this global pandemic. Therefore, I want to be straightforward in describing our plan that both adapts to the new COVID-19 economy while building a bridge to the future."