Starbucks Reports 7% Increase In Sales

Starbucks Corp. said Thursday its same-store sales rose 7 percent for the four weeks ended Jan. 25, compared with the year-ago period.

Same-store sales measure sales from stores open at least one year.

The coffee retailer said for the 17-week period ended Jan. 25 same-store sales rose 5 percent, compared with the year-ago period.

The Seattle-based company also said that during those 17 weeks, it opened 132 retail stores and its licensees opened 14 stores in North America.

The company said it plans to open 350 new stores in North America and 40 stores in the Pacific Rim during 1998.