Starbucks will stop selling newspapers and a number of food items to declutter stores and remove products customers aren’t buying.
The coffee chain will begin removing newspaper kiosks, grab-and-go snacks and bags of whole-bean coffee beginning in September. The changes will take place in Starbucks’ 8,600 company-owned stores in the United States.
“We are always looking at what we offer our customers in our stores and making adjustments to our portfolio based on changing customer behavior,” a Starbucks spokesperson told CNN Business.
The New York Times said it was disappointed by the decision, but it believes Starbucks customers who want to read the paper will be able to find it elsewhere.
“We’re confident that given our wide retail distribution, readers will have no trouble finding The New York Times for sale at nearby outlets,” the New York Times said in a statement.
Starbucks has gradually reduced selling non-core products in its stores. It announced in 2015 that it would stop selling CDs and has recently cut down on the number of merchandise for sale, such as mugs.
It announced in March that its modernizing its stores to focus on “convenience, comfort and connection.” Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson previously told CNN Business that each store should have different needs pertaining to its location.
“Every store, every community, has its own personality,” Johnson said.
For example, in an area with 20 stores, Johnson said Starbucks is thinking critically about how many should have drive-thrus, how many should be designed for mobile ordering, and how many should be full cafes. The idea is to “serve the multiple needs of that community.”
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