New York (awp/afp) – Starbucks recently hit record weekly sales of drinks and snacks, but to better meet the expectations of new consumers and sometimes dissatisfied employees, plans to invest an additional $450 million to modernize its stores in North America.
During a day of presentation to investors on Tuesday, group officials unveiled several innovations, such as a machine that can prepare filter coffee in 30 seconds or a system that saves baristas from having to regularly carry buckets of ice for customers. now mostly asking for cold drinks.
With more online orders, they also plan to build establishments dedicated to take-out or delivery products.
Automation is a gain for employees since it “simplifies their work”, for customers who “have access to more products” and for the company which “accelerates (its) revenues and increases (its) margins”, said chief operating officer John Culver.
Since the end of 2021, the group has faced a growing movement of unionization in the United States, the employees of more than 220 stores having since chosen to be represented by a union.
On Tuesday, the rise of the unions was not mentioned much by group officials. Strategy manager Frank Britt admitted a “lack of trust” with some employees, while John Culver said that while respecting the rights of union members, the group preferred to talk directly with its teams.
The chain, which must also manage a significant turnover within its workforce, has nevertheless for a year made several proposals to satisfy its teams.
In particular, it has pledged to increase the minimum wage to between $15 and $23 depending on the region and to devote a total of $1 billion to its employees this year.
In a statement, the union Starbucks Workers United, however, lamented not having been invited to participate in the new strategy of the group and regretted the efforts made by the chain to delay the start of negotiations. Several of its members demonstrated in front of the chain’s headquarters on Tuesday.
With its new strategy, the group expects growth of more than 10% in its turnover and its earnings per share over the coming quarters, assured its historic boss, Howard Schultz, who has temporarily returned to the head of the company. in April.
He will hand over the controls from October 1 to a new general manager, Laxman Narasimhan, currently at the head of the British group Reckitt Benckiser.
To fuel its growth, Starbucks plans to open 2,000 new stores in the United States and 3,000 in China, its second market, over the next three years.
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