Starbucks said at an investor event Wednesday that it plans to increase its store count to about 55,000 by 2030, up from roughly 33,000 today. The company is betting that by flooding the market with
new types of stores, including smaller locations and ones with drive-thru and curbside pickup, it will be able to steal more customers from the competition.
«Though we are growing off a large base, there is ample room to expand in regions where the Starbucks brand is less penetrated,» said Roz Brewer, the company’s chief operating officer, on Wednesday. She noted that Starbucks has a «particular focus on high volume, high margin, suburban drive-thrus.»