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Starbucks unveils five-year strategic plan, focus on opening new stores

Published: 14:32 07 Dec 2016 GMT

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Starbucks plans to roll out a new Artificial Intelligence ordering system for its app

US coffee behemoth Starbucks Inc (NASDAQ:SBUX) has unveiled a five-year strategic plan at a biennial Investor Conference, with the focus on opening new stores and driving food sales growth.

Starbucks told investors that it aims to add 12,000 new stores globally by 2021, and said it was on track to open more than 5,000 stores in China over the next five years.

It added that it expects the market in China to exceed that of the US over time.

The firm’s chairman and chief executive officer Howard Schultz said: “I have never been more energized or optimistic about the opportunities ahead.”

Starbucks said recently that Schultz will become its executive chairman in early April of 2017, with Kevin Johnson, the group’s president and chief operating officer, taking over as president and CEO.

Looking at financial targets, the Seattle-based firm said its goals included 10% revenue growth, 15-20% growth in earnings per share, along with mid-single digit same-store sales growth each year.

From next year, the group plans to open a new retail format, the Reserve Roastery stores formed in partnership with Italian foodmaker Princi.

The first Reserve Roastery stores will open in Seattle and Chicago in the second half of 2017, and stores are planned for Shanghai, Tokyo and New York City.

The group also said it plans to double food growth over the next five years.

It added that its food offerings next year will include new breakfast menus, more bistro box offerings and organic soups rolled out regionally.

Starbucks is also launching a new beverage, the Cascara Latte -- made with the fruit of the coffee cherry – which it will introduce in January.

And the firm plans to roll out a new Artificial Intelligence ordering system for its app, starting in early 2017 with limited beta testing. 

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