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Starbucks cafes are ubiquitous in the UK, with over 500 branches serving up frappuccinos, mochas, macchiatos and more. But the number of Starbucks cafes has recently gotten smaller, with 10 branches closing down in the UK in this month, including six in London. The coffee chain said that the stores would close for good by the end of October due to challenging trading conditions. Starbucks also revealed it will reduce its portfolio of stores in North America by 1 per cent this year and will cut around 900 head office jobs there. In 2024, Starbucks suffered its biggest slump in sales since the pandemic shutdown, prompting CEO Brian Niccol to pledge a “fundamental” change in direction. Here’s everything we know about the Starbucks closures in the UK: Starbucks recently carried out a review of its global portfolio to ensure that stores were maintaining “appropriate levels of foot traffic and operating in the right formats”. The coffee giant said the sites selected for closure are places that haven’t been able to “create the physical environment customers” want and where profitability isn’t sustainable. In a statement, Starbucks said: “We have conducted a review of our coffeehouse portfolio in North America and certain stores have been identified for closure where it has not been possible to create the physical environment customers and partners (employees) want, and where there isn’t a path to financial performance. In Europe Middle East & Africa (EMEA), we have conducted a similar review of our company-operated store portfolio with the goal of ensuring that our stores are correctly located, generating appropriate levels of foot traffic and operating in the right formats.” However, Starbucks says it still intends to meet its target of launching 80 new stores across the UK this financial year. The statement continued: “While the EMEA business is on track to meet its commitment to open 80 new stores in the UK and 150 across EMEA this financial year, some stores in the UK, Switzerland and Austria will close as a result of this portfolio review.”
