Starbucks to shrink menu by 30%

TheStreet’s Conway Gittens brings you the biggest news of the day, including what investors are watching and why Starbucks’ menu is shrinking.

Transcript

00:00I'm Conway Giddens reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.

00:02Here's what we're watching on the street today.

00:05Tech stocks are in the red this Wednesday for the second time this week.

00:08The mood, however, could change as several big tech names are due to release quarterly

00:13results.

00:14Outside of tech, Kohl's is slashing its corporate workforce by 10 percent.

00:19The job cuts are part of a turnaround effort that includes plans to shut 27 low-performing

00:25stores.

00:26Sticking with retail turnaround plans, Starbucks is making some changes under new CEO Brian

00:32Nickel, which it hopes will bring back some deserted customers.

00:37At the top of the list, slimming down its menu.

00:40Nickel told investors that the menu is going to get about 30 percent smaller.

00:44The downsize will impact both food and drinks.

00:47In addition to fewer menu items, Starbucks is investing $2.5 billion in a system aimed

00:53at helping baristas take fewer steps to make each drink.

00:57According to Starbucks, the new system will include, quote, a custom ice dispenser, milk

01:02dispensing system, and new faster blenders, all located within reach of a barista.

01:09Forty percent of Starbucks locations are expected to have that new system in place by 2026.

01:14And those aren't the only changes.

01:17Starbucks is bringing back the beloved condiment bar, which it ditched during pandemic times

01:22for reasons we can all understand.

01:24But now, with health concerns less of an issue, the milk, creamers, sugars, and spices we

01:29back at customers' reach.

01:32There's also a new code of conduct which could impact Starbucks' long-held image as a place

01:36to sit back, sip, and chill.

01:40That image, however, has not been translating to more business at the cash register lately.

01:45Sales at Starbucks have been down for four straight quarters.

01:49That's a losing streak.

01:50Starbucks hopes to stop with all the changes.

01:53That'll do it for your daily briefing from the New York Stock Exchange.

01:56I'm Conway Gittens with The Street.