Starbucks pumps the brakes as demand weakens
The world’s largest coffee chain is facing stiff competition from upmarket coffee houses and lower-priced fast-food groups
Bengaluru/New York — Starbucks has forecast slower sales growth than Wall Street expected this quarter and plans to close about 150 US cafes next fiscal year to boost performance, sending its shares down 2% after hours. The world’s largest coffee chain is facing competition both from upmarket coffee houses and lower-priced fast-food chains such as McDonald’s and Dunkin’ Donuts. It has missed analysts’ estimates for same-store sales in the Americas region in five of the past six quarters. The company anticipates lower net new store growth in the US for fiscal 2019 and said it would tackle rapidly changing consumer preferences by introducing new cold drinks such as a mango dragon fruit beverage and focusing on growing health and wellness trends. Starbucks executive chairman and cofounder Howard Schultz said earlier in June he was stepping away from the company on June 26. In April, Schultz worked alongside CE Kevin Johnson to help limit damage to the company’s image after a racial pro...
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