Starbucks will expand its new staffing and service model to all company-owned stores in North America by the end of summer, CEO Brian Niccol told Reuters on Tuesday. This is a major change from the company’s earlier plan, which aimed to implement the model in just one-third of U.S. stores by the end of its fiscal year.
The updated rollout will now cover more than 11,000 company-owned locations in North America. Starbucks clarified that this plan does not apply to its licensed stores, which would bring the total to around 18,000 if included.
Niccol said this shift is a key part of his strategy to improve the company’s performance. He is betting that better in-store customer service will help Starbucks return to stronger sales growth.
“We’ve learned, and now we know what we need to do, so let’s scale it,” Niccol said during Starbucks’ three-day leadership summit in Las Vegas. He noted that early tests of the model have resulted in faster service and higher sales, although he did not share specific data.
Called the “Green Apron” model, the new approach includes updated in-store technology to better manage order flow. It also assigns a specific barista to handle drive-through customers. Starbucks first tested the model in 700 stores. During an April 29 earnings call, Niccol had said it would be rolled out to a third of U.S. locations by the fiscal year-end.
Niccol became CEO in September and has focused on bringing Starbucks back to its roots as a coffeehouse. His “Back to Starbucks” plan moves away from a heavy focus on mobile and to-go orders, and emphasizes in-store experiences. One goal is for baristas to serve customers their orders in four minutes or less.
Niccol did not provide financial details about the cost of expanding the Green Apron model. He said more information would be shared at an investor day in 2026.
The Las Vegas leadership event, Starbucks’ first since 2019, hosted over 14,000 store managers and company leaders.
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