(New York) The American coffee giant Starbucks has managed to offset the sharp slowdown in its activity in China in the first quarter with a boost in the United States, where it wants to increase the development of its branches.
Posted at 5:56 p.m.
Revenue stood at $7.6 billion, in line with expectations and up 14% over the first three months of 2022, which corresponds to the second quarter of the group’s staggered fiscal year.
The sharp increase in its costs, whether for goods or wages, has significantly eroded margins, and net profit has increased, him, only 2%, to $ 674 million.
Reported by action, the indicator most followed by Wall Street, the figure is in line with analysts’ forecasts.
Sales outside North America slowed sharply by 8%, largely driven by a 23% drop in China on a like-for-like basis, which Starbucks attributes primarily to lockdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus . Some 16% of the group’s cafes are located in China.
To compensate, the channel was able to count on the dynamism of North America, where sales rose by 12%, also on a like-for-like basis, thanks to price increases and better attendance.
Nevertheless, the company suffered from a compression of its margins due, in part, to salary increases, in part linked to the tensions in the American labor market.
It intends to accelerate its development in the United States, in particular by opening “drive-in” points of sale, where customers are served in their vehicle.
In its results release, Starbucks does not mention the unionization movement that has been going through the siren sign for several months.
In total, since the end of 2021, employees of 250 cafes in the chain have initiated the formation of a union, according to the Starbucks Workers United, which federates the movement.
Some 47 trade union branches have already been created following elections.
The emblematic leader Howard Schultz took over the general management of the group at the beginning of April, on a temporary basis, and expressed his reluctance vis-à-vis this movement, going to many cafes to make his point of view known to employees. .