Starbucks in the United States is revamping its menu along with large-scale layoffs as part of restructuring. They have selected 13 menu items that do not sell well and are time-consuming to prepare, and will remove them from store menus starting next month. Among the 13 items, 9 are Frappuccinos. Frappuccino is a coffee beverage made with coffee, milk, and cream blended with ice, a portmanteau of frappe and cappuccino, and is a registered trademark of Starbucks.
On the 25th, the US publication Business Insider reported, "Starbucks announced it will lay off 1,100 employees this week," and "also stated that 13 menu items will be removed on March 4." A Starbucks representative told Business Insider, "We decided to remove from the menu items that are unpopular with customers, difficult or time-consuming to make, or similar to other menu items." Starbucks plans to reduce its menu by about 30% by September.
The 13 Starbucks menu items disappearing on March 4 are: Iced Matcha Lemonade, Espresso Frappuccino, Cafe Vanilla Frappuccino, White Chocolate Mocha Frappuccino, Java Chip Frappuccino, Chai Tea Cream Frappuccino, Caramel Ribbon Crunch Cream Frappuccino, Double Chocolate Chip Cream Frappuccino, Chocolate Cookie Crumble Cream Frappuccino, White Chocolate Cream Frappuccino, White Hot Chocolate, Royal English Breakfast Latte, and Honey Almondmilk Flat White.
Earlier, Brian Niccol, Starbucks CEO, announced in an email to employees on the 24th (local time) that the company plans to reduce corporate support staff by 1,100. As of the end of last year, Starbucks had 16,000 corporate support employees worldwide, so the layoffs represent about 7% of the total workforce. Starbucks has faced intensified competition from local companies in its two major markets, the US and China, and has encountered boycotts due to the war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas, resulting in four consecutive quarters of declining sales. Recently, Starbucks decided to open restrooms only to customers who place orders in North American stores, ending a seven-year policy of allowing all visitors to use the facilities, and plans to reduce its menu by about 30%.
On the other hand, Starbucks Korea (SCK Company) surpassed 2,000 stores last year and exceeded 3 trillion won in sales. Last year's sales reached 3.1001 trillion won, a 5.8% increase from the previous year. Operating profit was 190.8 billion won, up 51 billion won. As of the end of last year, there were 2,009 stores in Korea, an increase of 116 stores in one year. This made Korea the country with the third-largest number of Starbucks stores in the world, following the US and China.
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