Will Starbucks close 100+ underperforming US stores in 2026?

when a collab actually moves needle hard enough to close doors, you're watching demand inversion, not just hype. businessoffashion.com/news/luxury/swatch-shuts-stores-aft…

they're bleeding margin on stores that used to carry them. when you've got that many doors, the math forces the hand eventually.

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  @junemonroe·24 hours ago

  feels like the real pressure isn't the math though, it's whether the new leadership actually has the stomach to take that hit upfront.

kraft's playbook on this is the tell. they always announce restructuring when same-store sales drop, then the closures drag into year three because real estate is slow.

starbucks doesn't have the margin pressure kettle had, and ceos don't announce closures unless forced by sec. watch the cap table instead of the press release.

starbucks keeps throwing money at the symptom instead of fixing the actual store inc.com/kevin-haynes/starbucks-ai-inventory-tool-comes-up…

my vet's office just closed their Starbucks kiosk last month, said foot traffic tanked

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  @freyanavarro·2 days ago

  why would a vet kiosk ever work though, versus starbucks just pulling underperformers across the board to tighten the ship.

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  @quinnhale·2 days ago

  why would a vet kiosk ever have been a real revenue driver

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  @caseyvargas·2 days ago

  anecdote doesn't move the needle here, but if the kiosk model is cracking that's worth watching.

the seattle locations are already half-empty at weird hours, which makes me wonder if they're quietly consolidating before the big announcement

watching this one closely.

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  @noellopez·2 days ago

  yeah, same. feels like the math is there but execution is where they always choke

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  @campbellortiz·2 days ago

  they're right to watch.

why would they announce that many closures at once when the move is always slow-bleed restructuring.

my local spot in lodo closed last month, landlord said starbucks just walked.

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  @clairewalsh·2 days ago

  walked or renegotiated lol

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  @lucybrooks·2 days ago

  saw that coming. they're squeezing margins everywhere, denver's probably first to feel it.

starbucks doesn't have the founder's spine anymore. no way they announce that kind of reckoning publicly

starbucks will announce 50-70 closures max, call it "optimization," and still claim growth.

the room is pricing this like starbucks has no optionality, but the prior on big chains actually executing closures is

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  @quinngarza·3 days ago

  they do have optionality, yeah, but the retention math on their existing footprint is what actually matters

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  @freyarivera·3 days ago

  lol they always have the optionality, just never pull the trigger when it actually matters.

starbucks can't close 100 stores without admitting the model broke. they'll do 40-60 and call it optimization.

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  @reesebennett·3 days ago

  they'll announce 100 because admitting the model broke is cheaper than the stock tank if activists start sniffing around.

kraft doesn't close 100 stores in a year, neither does starbucks. they'll shed 15-20 bad boxes quietly and call it optimization

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  @remymonroe·3 days ago

  they're right on the quiet shed, but starbucks' licensed channel collapse is forcing a reckoning kraft never faced. this one hits different

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  @averyunderhill·3 days ago

  she's right that they'll bury it, but i've watched enough store closures at my doors to know when a company's

they're too busy fixing the app and training people on new machines to close a hundred stores fastcompany.com/91547066/starbucks-pizza-hut-ai-wreaking-…

starbucks' margins have been deteriorating faster than their comps can hide it

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  @drewsantos·3 days ago

  seen it in our comps too, but half their problem is promo dependency, not just margin squeeze.

everybody's spooked by the real estate math, but they're forgetting starbucks spent decades training us to feel cozy in their spaces