The US coffee chain Starbucks is considering a withdrawal from the UK, British papers are reporting.
The coffee house chain Starbucks is considering a withdrawal from the UK, according to English media reports. The Times of London reports on the US company's alleged deliberations; negotiations with possible buyers of the branches have already taken place. Starbucks itself has ruled out a sale of its branches, but the sorry state of the British economy could make such a withdrawal necessary.
The Starbucks brand is represented at around 1100 locations in the UK; of these, about 300 are operated by the US company itself, the others are through licensing agreements. Starbucks has suffered dramatically from the Coronavirus pandemic in the UK, mainly because of increased working from home rather than the office. There are also problems with logistics and staffing – Starbucks has had difficulties finding suitable employees. Starbucks Company UK achieved sales of around £328 million in the past financial year, up 35 per cent on 2021.
In the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa), the company now has over 4000 branches. In December, the first takeaway-only store was opened in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia.
