Starbucks Chief Executive Brian Niccol said on September 10 that the coffee chain’s turnaround is working and that its next phase will center on renovating cafes and improving customer experience across its locations.
Niccol, who has led the company for two years, told CNBC that the recovery effort has moved past its early stages. “Finish the job on uplifting all of our coffeehouses,” he said, describing the current priority for the business.
The renovation drive targets the physical spaces where customers order and gather, part of a broader push to restore the in-store atmosphere that the company has long promoted as a draw. Faster service and smoother ordering also feature in the plan.
The strategy builds on measures Niccol introduced after taking the top job. Those earlier steps aimed to simplify operations and cut wait times, part of an effort to reset the customer experience after a stretch of weak results.
The company has faced a prolonged sales slump. Starbucks reported six straight quarters of same-store sales declines during the turnaround, a run that pressured the brand across its major markets and pushed management to rethink store design and staffing.
Among the measures rolled out under Niccol was the Green Apron service model, which sought to speed up order handling and return baristas to a more direct role with customers. The cafe renovations extend that focus from operations to the physical environment.
Niccol framed the makeovers as the closing stage of a multi-year effort rather than a new direction. The message to investors and customers is that the earlier operational fixes have taken hold and that the company can now turn to longer-term improvements in its estate.
Starbucks operates thousands of locations worldwide, and the scope and timeline for the renovation program will determine how quickly customers notice the changes. The company did not detail a full schedule for completing the work across its network.
Starbucks is due to report its next quarterly results in the coming weeks, when investors will look for evidence that sales trends have improved.