Get ready for a lot more pumpkin spice lattes.
Starbucks has announced plans to add just under 15,000 locations as it continues its international expansion. The coffee chain already has approximately 20,200 cafés outside of the U.S. By 2030, it said, it expects that number to be closer to 35,000. Additionally, it plans to open another 2,000 locations across the U.S., it said.
“Three out of every four new stores over the near term is expected to be opened outside of the U.S. as our store portfolio becomes increasingly global,” Michael Conway, president of Starbucks’ international and channel development divisions, said during a company presentation.
The news followed Starbucks’s blowout earnings, where the company saw quarterly sales jump 11.4% to $9.37 billion and adjusted earnings of $1.06 per share (handily beating analyst estimates of 97 cents).
Shares of the company were slightly higher in morning trading Friday.
News of the expansion was accompanied by the chain’s vow to reduce costs by $3 billion. One-third of that will come from improving store efficiencies. The remaining $2 billion will come from savings on its cost of goods.
This is all part of Starbucks’s “reinvention plan,” which was first unveiled last September. That initiative was meant to simplify things for baristas as customers place more complicated orders and expect the same speed of service.
The expansion comes as Starbucks continues to face labor issues with the union organizing its workers. The company has been accused of “egregious” antiunion activity by a judge for the U.S. National Labor Relations Board. Workers are pushing for better benefits and higher pay, as well as annual raises of 5% and seniority rewards.
