Starbucks to close some 200 stores in Canada

Ottawa: American coffee giant, Starbucks said that it has planned to close as many as 200 stores in Canada in the next two years, even after the economy gets back to normal after the COVID-19 pandemic, the media reported.

The Seattle-based company made the revelation in a filing to US securities regulators on Wednesday, reports CBC News.

While the coffee business like many others has effectively been on pause during the COVID-19 pandemic, Starbucks said that it wasstarting to look ahead to what its business will be like over the longer term.

The company still said it plans to open more stores around the world, but it will have a smaller footprint in many markets in the US and Canada.

"We will restructure our company-operated business in Canada over the next two years, with the potential of up to 200 additional stores being closed," it said.

Currently, there are about 1,400 Starbucks outlets in Canada, which means that about 15 per cent of the chain's Canadian stores could close down in the next two years.

But not all the stores will necessarily close completely. Some could simply focus on pick-up orders only, an idea that the chain has been testing out, said the CBC News report.

In February, Starbucks opened a store with that format in Commerce Court, in the heart of Toronto's financial district.

The Starbucks Pickup locations target customers who have ordered in advance on the company's app and then pick it up, or ask to have it delivered.