Starbucks Keeps Expanding

SEATTLE-Starbucks Corp. plans to open 1,500 stores globally during this fiscal year, adding to its worldwide total of 8,700 units. During its last fiscal year the company and licensees opened nearly 1,400 stores.

Just over half of the openings in the US will be company-owned, and the rest will be licensed units. Abroad, the company will open 100 stores and license 325. Besides the US, Starbucks has stores in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim.

For its fiscal Q1, which ended Jan. 2, Starbucks posted a same-store sales jump of 10% at company-owned units. Revenues shot up 26%, to $1.4 billion, during the quarter, while operating income rose 30%, to $227 million.