UK sales edge up at Starbucks

7 May, 2012

Starbucks has increased its UK sales on the back of a raft of new initiatives, the coffee shop giant has revealed in its latest set of financial results.

Starbucks said UK sales in the first three months of 2012 were “slightly” up, with sales of lattes and cappuccinos rising by 9%. UK managing director Kris Engskov told the Daily Mail sales had been triggered by a move to put an extra shot of espresso in its coffee drinks: “Offering more value when it is needed most has proved very popular.” Starbucks said the marketing campaign around the extra shot had been a big hit, as had the promotion around Starbucks’ personalisation, including a move to label customers’ drinks by their first names.

Across Starbucks’ Europe, Middle East and Asia division, sales slipped by 1% on a like for like basis. It blamed the prolonged economic downturn across Europe for the worse than expected figures. Worldwide, the company reported profits up 14% to £281m, on sales up 15% to £1.9bn. It opened 176 stores in the period, continuing its resurgent expansion programme under chairman and CEO Howard Schultz.