In a move to further expand the growing business, Starbucks plan to launch new retails formats such as tasting rooms and express stores.
Tasting rooms took Starbucks two years to develop, and it's finally ready to hit the market in December in the form of 15,000-square-foot retail stores. The dubbed "coffee theater" is dedicated to coffee education, roasting, and increased availability of the company's small-batch coffees. In a statement released by the company, they said that tasting rooms pay homage to coffee history.
The Seattle-based company also plans to increase the sales of its "reserve" coffee options, that are usually available for a limited time, to about 1,500 stores globally. They intend to open out 100 stores exclusively selling their Starbucks Reserve small-batch Arabica coffee line.
They recently opened the first Startbucks Reserve in Colombia that serves 100% Colombian coffee. The company expects to hit $1.5 million in sales for its first year.
Starbucks also plan to increase the number of stores with drive-thru options as they saw the notable higher sales for stores with a Drive Thru. 40% of the Starbucks chains in the U.S. have a drive-thru option and they yield higher sales than the ones without.
"The evolution of our store experience is a direct reflection of how our customers are interested in both accessibility to the brand as well as speed and convenience," said Cliff Burrows, group president, U.S., Americas, and Teavana, in a statement released on the official website.
The planned express stores will feature less number of items on the menu. The goal is to reduce waiting times by a more efficient method of transaction. The stores will cater to digital and mobile mode of payment. Through this method, they can gain insight on how they can enhance the physical and digital experience of their consumers. The coffee company has yet to announce when these express stores will open.
Starbucks has 20,863 stores in 64 countries as of June 2014.
