The world’s most delicious, quieter coffee shops, with the chillest atmosphere in which to sit down and rest… But 2025 has arrived with a bang and will force many stores in the United States to close their doors. Yes, we’re talking about Starbucks, and yes, they’re going to close many stores. Now we’re going to tell you everything we know about this news that has reached us. Is Starbucks in trouble or are they simply adjusting their business strategy?
What’s happening to Starbucks?
The most famous coffee chain in the world is reducing its activity and closing stores, perhaps because they have fewer customers? Or perhaps because the prices of their products are much more expensive than in other places. Recently, many workers have also shown their discontent in recent years.
The current state of Starbucks
The coffee chain has at least 17,000 stores in the country (according to ScrapeHero 2024), but, as you can see, the company is not going through its best moment, and everything points, as we said before, to the relationship with the workers. After the COVID-19 pandemic, and although several years have passed, its consequences and the way in which the company works have left havoc, and Starbucks had to face a workers’ strike in the middle of the Christmas campaign.
Why was there a strike?
The protest was organized by the Starbucks Workers United union, it occurred in December and lasted five days (ending on Christmas Eve). The employees demanded better working conditions and decided to stop after negotiations with the company stalled. The first cities to join the strike were Los Angeles, Chicago and Seattle, affecting several stores at a key time of the year.
Which stores are closing?
As you can see, Starbucks has not recovered and has already closed (or will close) several stores as we move into 2025.
Stores closed or in the process of closing:
- San Francisco, CA: 99 Jackson St (closing February 9), 1799 Fulton St, and 2222 Fillmore St (closed).
- Brooklyn, NY: 166 7th Avenue (closing January 30).
- Dallas, TX: 1201 Elm St (closed).
- Flourtown, PA: 1851 Bethlehem Pike (closed).
- Woodburn, OR: 1001 N Arney Rd (closed).
- Happy Valley, OR: 12000 Southeast 82nd Avenue Clackamas Town Center (closed).
- Overland Park, KS: 10201 W 75th St (closed).
- San Jose, CA: 145 W. Santa Clara St (closed).
- Wheeling, IL: 751 N Milwaukee Ave (closed).
What about Starbucks’ future?
There don’t seem to be any growth prospects for this year, and with these closures mentioned above, it is estimated that they will also reduce the opening of new stores this year. In October, the CFO stated that they want to redesign and free up the company’s capital.
Rachel Ruggeri, the company’s CFO, has already confirmed that they have not been able to change the trajectory of decreasing traffic and that this has generated pressures on both revenue and bottom line results. She also revealed that Starbucks is on an improvement plan but that it will take time (more so now that they have closed many stores) but they are mainly looking to increase confidence in the business again. Is Starbucks in decline?
While the closures may seem alarming, Starbucks remains a strong brand with over 17,000 stores in the US. But now with the decision to scale back its expansion it seems that Starbucks is facing problems. In principle, and as we have already mentioned, they are only opting for a new economic strategy, but the key question is whether consumers will now continue to pay for the Starbucks experience or look for a cheaper and local alternative. Is the Iced Frappé in danger of extinction?