Starbucks to add "hundreds of thousands of seats" back to its stores
星巴克计划在门店内恢复“成千上万个座位”
There was a time, back in the mid-2010s, when Starbucks was in its prime. It was an era characterized by handwritten notes on cups, signature purple chairs, and coffee houses teeming with people sitting down to enjoy a morning pick-me-up.
曾几何时，大约是十年前，星巴克正处于鼎盛时期。那时候，饮品杯身上满是手写备注，星巴克的标志性紫色座椅随处可见，早上的咖啡馆里坐满了享用提神饮品的人。
Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol wants to revive that era.
星巴克首席执行官布莱恩·尼科尔希望重现那个年代。
Since those early days, Niccol said, Starbucks has become "very transactional." Post-pandemic, the company's business model has been increasingly focused on mobile ordering, a system that's transformed the coffee house from a sit-down experience to something more like an endless, harried line.
尼科尔表示，从早期的盛况到现在，星巴克变得“过于侧重交易属性”。疫情之后，公司的商业模式愈发向手机点单系统倾斜——这套系统使得星巴克从一个可供落座休憩的场所，转变成了类似一条永无止境、让人步履匆匆的取餐队伍。
The last several years have been fairly lackluster for Starbucks. Niccol said in a recent interview that the once-dominant chain's transactions peaked around 2019 and have remained fairly stagnant ever since. Starbucks brought in $36 billion in fiscal year 2024 — nearly flat with 2023 — by bumping costs to make up for dwindling customers.
过去几年，星巴克的发展颇为平淡。尼科尔在近期的一次采访中提到，这家曾经占据主导地位的连锁品牌，其销售额在 2019 年左右达到峰值，此后便一直停滞不前。2024 财年，星巴克的营收额为 360 亿美元，与 2023 年基本持平，而且这一成绩是通过涨价来弥补客户数量下降才实现的。
Other players, including the Chinese competitor Luckin Coffee and brands like Blank Street, Dunkin', and Dutch Bros, are slowly eating into Starbucks' market share with creative, Gen Z-centric beverages.
与此同时，其他竞争对手正不断蚕食星巴克的市场份额，其中包括中国品牌瑞幸咖啡，以及 Blank Street、唐恩都乐（Dunkin'）、达奇兄弟（Dutch Bros）等品牌，它们凭借创意十足、以 Z 世代为核心客群的饮品崭露头角。
So, Niccol is setting out to redesign the entire Starbucks experience. Already, he's brought back personalized touches like handwritten notes on cups and in-store condiment bars, as well as investing in new menu innovations for younger customers.
因此，尼科尔着手重新打造星巴克的整体体验。目前，他已恢复了诸多个性化服务，比如杯身手写备注、店内调味吧台，同时还为年轻客群研发新菜单。
And bigger changes are on the way: In the coming months, he said he plans to redesign 1,000 of Starbucks's 11,000 company-operated cafés in North America.
更大的动作还在后头：尼科尔表示，未来几个月，他计划对北美地区 1.1 万家公司直营咖啡馆中的 1000 家进行重新设计。
Ultimately, he wants Starbucks to return to an institution that customers actually want to spend time in, rather than an experience to be endured.
归根结底，他希望星巴克能回归本质——成为顾客真正愿意花时间停留的场所，而非一段需要忍耐的（消费）体验。
重点词汇
in its prime
在某人或者某物的鼎盛时期
相关词汇：prime（adj. 主要的，最好的；n. 全盛时期，盛年）
搭配短语：a prime source of evidence
搭配短语：prime beef
例句：You're in the prime of life.
搭配短语：past one's prime
signature
/ˈsɪɡ.nə.tʃɚ/
n. 识别标志，鲜明特色；签名
例句：This dish is his signature.
例句：Braised pork belly is Chef Shuai's signature dish.
teem
/tiːm/
v. 充满，充足
例句：The garden is teeming with life.
pick-me-up
/ˈpɪk.mi.ʌp/
n. 提神饮料；能让人恢复精神、提振情绪的事物
英文释义：something that makes you feel better, often a drink
例句：It is traditional for Italians to drink Espresso as a morning pick-me-up.
例句：Taking 10 minutes to walk in the park is a perfect pick-me-up during a busy day.
revive
/rɪˈvaɪv/
v. 使重新流行，使恢复精力、重振活力；使复活
词根词缀：vive（相当于 life）
英文释义：back to life
例句：The man collapsed but was revived.
例句：The message revived me.
例句：Traditional skills are being revived.
transactional
/trænˈzækʃənəl/
adj. 交易的
相关词汇：transaction（n. 交易，业务）
harried
/ˈher.id/
adj. 被困扰的，不胜其烦的
相关词汇：harry（v. 不断攻击，不断骚扰）
例句：She harried the company, writing letters and making phone calls.
英文释义：worried and angry, especially because people keep wanting things from you
例句：He spent the day feeling harried and unproductive.
lackluster
/ˈlækˌlʌs.tər/
adj. 枯燥乏味的，缺乏亮点的
相关词汇：lack（v. 缺乏）
相关词汇：luster（n. 光泽，光辉）
peak
/piːk/
v. 达到巅峰，达到最大值
词性拓展：peak（n. 山峰；最高点）
例句：Airfaire reached a peak during the holiday.
搭配短语：be at one's peak = be in one's prime
stagnant
/ˈstæɡ.nənt/
adj. 停滞的
搭配短语：a stagnant economy
bump
/bʌmp/
v. 增加；碰撞；遇见，邂逅
例句：I bumped my head.
例句：I bumped into my colleague last weekend when I was in town.
dwindle
/ˈdwɪn.dəl/
v. 减少，逐渐变小
例句：Her hopes of success in the race dwindled as the weather became worse.
eat into
消耗，花费
英文释义：to use or take away a large part of something valuable, such as money or time
例句：The high cost of living in Shanghai is eating into my savings.
touch
/tʌtʃ/
n. 特色；触碰，接触
词性拓展：touch（v. 触碰）
搭配短语：to touch the ground
例句：The company logo was a touch of genius.
condiment
/ˈkɑːn.də.mənt/
n. 调味品，佐料
