Starbucks today announced revenue for the last quarter, which was in line with analysts' expectations, but Starbucks predicted that business would be a bit sluggish this quarter and announced that it would close 379 Teavana stores nationwide by the spring of 2018.
The announcement comes after Starbucks announced a major decision to buy a 50 per cent stake in its business in eastern China from its partners, which would cost $1.3 billion and would be Starbucks' biggest acquisition. Starbucks' net income fell to about $690 million, or 47 cents a share, last quarter. In the same period a year ago, Starbucks' net income was about $750 million, or 51 cents a share. Although Starbucks' revenue met expectations this time, both the retail and restaurant industries in the United States are going through a cold winter due to pressure from non-traditional competitors. In terms of overall sales, Starbucks's overall sales rose 5% last quarter compared with the same period last year, and traffic rebounded in the last quarter after three consecutive quarters of continuous decline. In china, sales at Starbucks stores rose 7% last quarter compared with the same period last year.
