Starbucks (SCK Company): how its people are moving

Banseog note · Oct 24, 2026

Starbucks (SCK Company) — Headcount unchanged while it rebuilds trust

Where it stands now

Recovery — regaining brand trust and profitability after its first quarterly loss in 27 years

2025 revenue was KRW 3.238 trillion, above KRW 3 trillion for the second year running, with operating profit of KRW 173 billion and 2,115 stores. Q2 2026 revenue was KRW 747.3 billion (−6.1%) and the operating loss KRW 18.4 billion, its first quarterly loss since entering Korea in 1999. First-half operating profit was KRW 10.9 billion (−85.5%).

A 'Tank Day' tumbler promotion on 2026-05-18 caused a controversy over disparaging the May 18 Democratic Uprising, and the CEO and related executives were dismissed. Estimated card payments bottomed at KRW 100.4 billion in June and recovered for three straight months to KRW 121.1 billion in September.

On Korea's National Pension Service public workplace data, 22,455 people were on the pension register in August 2026, 78 more (+0.3%) than in October 2025, almost unchanged. Over the same period, however, hires and departures were each around 8,500, so store staff turnover is large. Since most store staff are directly employed, this figure is close to the actual size of the frontline workforce.

Three decisions within a year

1. Leadership: on 2026-06-08 it named Executive Vice President Shin Dong-woo, head of the support division at Shinsegae Property (head of SCK's strategic planning division in 2023), as the new CEO. The company set restoring brand trust, resetting its pre-review process and expanding social contribution as its tasks.
2. Store opening approach: shifting from adding 100+ stores every year to an efficiency focus, it is increasing premium openings such as 'The' stores, concept stores and Reserve stores based on trade-area analysis, including tourist areas. As of April 2026 there are six Reserve-only stores.
3. Resumption of business: after halting summer new products and promotions following the incident, it reopened new products and customer benefits in stages from July and conducted history education for employees. In Q1, exchange-rate-driven cost pressure and a provision for the Q4 2025 frequency gift recall also weighed on profit.

Three people it will look for

1. Marketing review and brand risk management — resetting the pre-review system for campaigns
2. Store managers and district operations managers — maintaining store quality amid 8,000+ hires and departures a year
3. Store development and trade-area analysis — efficiency-focused openings in premium and tourist areas

For HR

Even with a flat headcount, more than 8,000 people turn over in a year at this company. After an incident, frontline training and retaining store managers are brand management itself, so it is safer to watch first for signs of store-manager-level departures.

For job seekers

Experience in brand crisis response or in standardizing operations across a large store network fits this company's current tasks.

A reading written from public sources. Sources: 2025 results (2026-04-24 coverage), Q2 and H1 2026 results (2026-08-13 coverage), Tank Day controversy and CEO dismissal (2026-05), naming of the new CEO (2026-06-08), recovery in estimated card payments (2026-10-11 coverage), coverage of store opening strategy (2026), coverage of Reserve stores (2026-04-08), brokerage Q1 report (2026-04-20). Team size is from Korea's pension register.