Starbucks pushes the green button on further UK growth

The Starbucks strategy story over the last 2-3 years is perhaps the richest source available of insight and inspiration for GCE business students. And now there is a new twist in the story…

Starbucks has just posted some very strong profit numbers for its latest quarter. Howard Schultz’s strategy of refocusing Starbucks on its core business and investing in the Starbucks customer experience seems to be paying off. Starbucks increased profits from $25m to $217m in the last quarter, boosted in part by the launch of Via instant coffee.

In the UK, Starbucks has announced plans to open many new stores in the months ahead. Some good coverage of that new here. Store sales in the UK grew by nearly 5% on the year, helped by the rise in users of its loyalty card.