Coffee retailer Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) is closing 300 stores across Canada by the end of March.
The Seattle-based coffeehouse and roastery chain says it is accelerating its five-year "transformation strategy" as it responds to changes in consumer habits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The restructuring in Canada includes adding new drive-thru locations, the expansion of delivery and a pilot of curbside pickup-only coffee shops. The company began experimenting with pickup-only locations before the pandemic.
The first Canadian Starbucks store using the new format, which measured 93 square metres, launched in Toronto's financial district in January 2019.
The first new drive-thru is slated to open this month in Abbotsford, B.C. Starbucks said the changes will help the coffee chain “best meet our customers where they are now.”
Starbucks had about 1,400 locations in Canada at the end of last year.
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