Starbucks Corp.’s share price up, opens a new Seattle store to expand its premium Reserve coffee line and boost production

Starbucks Corp. said today that it is opening a store located in Seattle. The store combines a café and a coffee bean roastery and its opening is considered a part of the U.S.-based companys strategy to increase its premium coffee lines production.

The Chief Operating Officer of the company, Troy Alstead, said in an interview, cited by Bloomberg: “Our new store formats give us the ability to grow in the U.S. and other parts of the world. That unique roastery experience gives customers an understanding of our heritage.”

Starbucks has set a goal of increasing its sales generated by its food business in its domestic market by 50% over the next half a decade. The U.S.-based company is expected to present its growth strategies for the upcoming five years, but it also intends to unveil a target for annual revenue generated from food offerings. The company seeks to double its annual revenue to no less than $4 billion by the fiscal 2019.

The Starbucks Reserve Roastery and Tasting Room is 15 000-square-foot facility. The store is scheduled to open today and is part of the companys plans to double its small-batch roasting capacity. This, on the other hand, will also provide Starbucks with the opportunity to expand and consolidate the presence of its Reserve coffee line from 800 to 1 500 locations all over the world.

The Chief Executive Officer of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, commented for Reuters: “We are never going to allow any coffee company, domestically or around the world, to put us in a subordinate position in terms of quality and access to the highest grade arabica coffee.”

Starbucks also announced its intentions to open another Reserve roastery under the “Star R” brand, as well as a tasting room in Asia in 2016.

Starbucks Corp. was up 1.04% to close at $81.31 per share yesterday, marking a one-year gain of 2.28%. The company is valued at $60.22 billion. According to CNN Money, the 19 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Starbucks have a median target of $88.00, with a high estimate of $100.00 and a low estimate of $75.00. The median estimate represents a +8.23% increase from the last price of $81.31.