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Since Brian Niccol took over as Starbucks Chairman and CEO in 2024, hes promised a grand turnaround for the coffee giant by going back to its roots in lovingly designed, customer-centric stores. The messaging wasnt enough to break six straight quarters of global sales decline. Global sales grew 1% at the end of the 2025 fiscal year, but they left the U.S. behind. Now, Starbuckss Q1 2026 earnings have beat analyst estimates and seem to be cementing a turnaround, marking the first time same store sales have increased in the U.S. in eight quarters. Starbucks same store sales were up 4% in the U.S. and 5% globally during the first quarter, thanks largely to a 3% rise in overall transactions. Despite well-documented store closures, the company says it still added 128 net new stores over the last quarter. Our Q1 results demonstrate our ‘Back to Starbucks’ strategy is working and we believe we’re ahead of schedule, said Niccol during earnings. It’s great to see the sales momentum driven by more customers choosing Starbucks more often, and this is just the beginning. [Photo: Starbucks] As I reported last year, Niccols thesis has been that better hospitality will drive more people to return to Starbucksand that adding seats back to stores post-COVID is a way for the company to stand out. Improved store experience is just one piece of his strategy, which has also included fresh ad campaigns, an operationally simplified menu with lots of protein, beloved merch drops, and most recently, collabs with Mr. Beast and Khloé Kardashian. Starbucks revenue grew by 6% last quarter overall. However, Niccol is facing tighter margins than he was a year ago. Costs ranging from uplifting Starbucks stores, to increasing staffing and pay (albeit not appeasing unions), to tariffs on ever-more-expensive coffee beans have decreased margins from 16.7% to 11.9%. When I asked Niccol about the effects of coffee pricing on Starbucks last year, he mostly shrugged off the question, noting it was actually a relatively small line item for the company. But like many of its rising costs, it no doubt adds pressure for Starbucks to continue to grow, and to sell more product from each store in order to bolster profits when margins shrink.
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E-Commerce
Need a break from the news? We thought so. After days of dealing with Winter Storm Fernwhich has left 600,000 homes without power in the South, and thousands others digging themselves out from under more than snow (especially here in New England)overwhelmed and exhausted people everywhere have discovered one, rather dark meme that has the internet obsessed: the nihilist penguin. What exactly is the nihilistic penguin meme? This clip, from Werner Herzog’s 2007 documentary “Encounters at the End of the World,” of a lone penguin walking out into what looks like a never-ending tundra after stubbornly choosing to leave his penguin colony, went viral at the beginning of the year. Doomed, he seems to saunter on by himself, into his unknown fate toward the mountains. “One of them caught our eye, the one in the center,” Herzog explains as he narrates the documentary. “He would neither go toward the feeding grounds at the edge of the ice, nor return to the colony. Shortly afterward, we saw him heading straight for the mountains, some 70 kilometers away. Doctor Ainslie explained even if he caught him, and brought him back to the colony, he would immediately head right back for the mountains. But, why?” Well, by the looks of it, many people relate to the clip, with TikTokers sharing, commenting, and making their own version of the video. Why do they relate? According to social media posts, there seem to be two interpretations of the clip: One, bleak as it is, is that we are all that penguin, going toward our certain deaths. (According to the Doomsday clock, we are all one step closer to destruction.) A second is more optimistic: that the penguin’s actions are a symbol of endurance. As one TikTok user explains, “if this penguin doesn’t penetrate your psyche so deeply that you are compelled to finally drop everything & chase your dreams. then you’re doomed forever bro.” Doomed forever bruh, indeed.
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E-Commerce
Fans of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen will be sad to learn that more than a dozen locations have shuttered this month across two Southeastern states. The closures come after Sailormen Inc., a major Popeyes franchisee, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Florida on January 15. Once the bankruptcy proceedings began, Sailormen immediately moved to shutter 17 Popeyes restaurants in Georgia and Florida, according to court records. The company is now seeking to reject the leases at those locations where the beloved fried chicken fast-food restaurants formerly operated. The closures took place as recently as this week, according to a January 26 court docket. It’s unclear if more restaurants will close. Fast Company reached out to Sailormen and Popeyes for comment. Why did Sailormen file for bankruptcy? As Fast Company reported earlier this month, Sailormen cited a number of factors that led up to its bankruptcy petition, including high inflation and borrowing rates, and foot traffic that never fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurant Brands International (RBI), which owns Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen along with major chains such as Burger King and Tim Hortons, has faced increasing competition in the so-called fast food chicken wars. Notably, younger generations are turning to fast-growing brands like Raising Canes and Daves Hot Chicken. With more than 5,000 locations worldwide, Popeyes is still the far larger chain, but RBI reported a decline in same-store sales for the brand for three consecutive quarters last year. Which Popeyes have closed? Sailormen said in a court filing that it closed eight locations on January 19, five locations on January 20, and four locations on January 22. It characterized the restaurants as “underperforming.” The full list of locations is below: Florida 2005 Ohio Avenue North Live Oak, FL 32064 1601 South US Highway Ft. Pierce, FL 34950 5156 S. Dale Mabry Highway Tampa, FL 33611 2729 S.E. Highway 70 Arcadia, FL 34266 175 South Highway 17 East Palatka, FL 32131 649 S. McDuff Avenue Jacksonville, FL 32205 1124 N. Young Boulevard Chiefland, FL 32626 27740 US 27 Leesburg, FL 34748 200 Green Way Keystone Heights, FL 32656 812 South 6th Street Macclenny, FL 32063 1833 Kings Road Jacksonville, FL 32209 2015 North Wickham Road Melbourne, FL 32935 Georgia 401 N. 1st Street, Jesup, GA 31545 2106 Memorial Drive Waycross, GA 31501 1610 S. Georgia Parkway West Waycross, GA 31503 68 West Coffee Street Hazlehurst, GA 31539 3319 Altama Avenue Brunswick, GA 31520
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E-Commerce
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