After earning praise for constructing plans to help furloughed staffers better cope with the pandemic, Starbucks ($SBUX) is ready to get back to business - just not 100% of its business, from the looks of it. Starbucks revealed it is $3 billion short thanks to the Coronavirus outbreak, and alternative data is suggesting a slow rebound in some re-opening economies.
In comparison to its bounce-back in Asia, where it began to see more stores opening weeks ago, Starbucks' rebound in the UK and in European nations is a bit muted, even as more of them are reopening their economies and coming back online.
It's part of a global trend Starbucks is facing - tracked in our chart above. More than 2,000 stores, or 7.3%, have been shuttered largely due to the pandemic, and only now are most starting to resume operations. In Italy, Starbucks has reopened most of its stores, save for a lone flagship location designated for a more immersive consumer experience.
In Germany, however, Starbucks shuttered 10 of more than 160 stores during the pandemic and hasn't yet reopened them (a smaller factor in our first chart). Whether or not that's part of Starbucks' long-term strategy remains to be seen; but Germany will reopen borders June 15, which will likely trigger a new wave of economic activity - and economic activity has long been fueled by caffeine.
In France, Starbucks' dip appears to have gone even further. There, nearly half of its locations remain closed, a sign of what happens in some developed economies still struggling to process the painful rebound from Coronavirus.
It could also be evidence that consumer businesses are going to face a bigger challenge are a greater percentage of the world population looks to reduce its time in movie theaters, stadiums, restaurants, and coffee shops to duck the prospect of being dragged into a pandemic.
So far this year, Starbucks' stock is down more than 12%.
About the Data:
Thinknum tracks companies using the information they post online - jobs, social and web traffic, product sales, and app ratings - and creates data sets that measure factors like hiring, revenue, and foot traffic. Data sets may not be fully comprehensive (they only account for what is available on the web), but they can be used to gauge performance factors like staffing and sales.
