Coffee chain Starbucks says it plans to close up to 200 stores in Canada in the next two years, even after the economy gets back to normal after COVID-19. Currently, Canada has about 1,400 locations in Canada, so about 15 per cent of the chain's Canadian stores could close down in the next two years. "While we had originally planned to execute this strategy over a three- to five-year timeframe, rapidly evolving customer preferences hasten the need for this concept and we are now envisioning the accelerated development of Starbucks Pickup stores." Like many retailers, Starbucks shut down most of its stores during the pandemic, but the chain has mostly reopened. Today, approximately 96 per cent of the Starbucks locations around the world have reopened in some capacity, including 88 per cent in Canada.

Source: CBC News June 10, 2020 14:04 UTC