Starbucks Planning On Opening 26,000 More Stores; Partnering With Apple

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

We fear for the future of the independent cafe, as it's clear that Starbucks is still determined to bring its beverages to as many neighborhoods as humanly possible. In an recent interview, the caffeine giant's chairman Howard Schultz stated that he wanted to double the size of the company. Only 6,000 more stores are slated for the US and Canada, though—the rest will pop up in other countries like Mexico, Russia, Brazil, China and Paris France (ed. note: er, post was written pre-coffee this morning). Schultz also believes that no area has reached the point of Starbucks saturation (ah, Murray Hill residents may disagree with him there), and that "there isn’t any market that we’re in...that is approaching anything but opportunity."

In more Starbucks news this morning, the chain has just partnered with Apple to take advantage of their wireless iTunes store. Soon, customers at select Starbucks will be able to purchase songs they hear while sitting in a cafe sipping their Frappuccinos. New York will be one of the test cities for this venture (along with Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago), which will roll out locally on October 2nd. It's all so...thrilling.
· Founder Sees Lots of Room for Lots More Starbucks [NY Times]
· Starbucks, Apple Are In 'Tune' [NY Post]