Starbucks to sell beer, wine at more locations

Coffee chain Starbucks plans to turn more of its cafes into beer and wine destinations in the evenings.

According to the coffee company, it was looking to expand alcohol sales to ''thousands of select stores'' over the next several years, although it provided no details on an exact timeline.

The chain first offered beer and wine after 4 pm at one of its Seattle cafes in 2010 extending it to about 26 cafes, with plans to reach 40 by the end of the year.

The cafes with alcohol also offer several dishes, such as bacon-wrapped dates and flatbreads.

According to commentators, the move part of Starbucks' push to boost sales after the morning rush hour. It was a common concept in the restaurant industry which looked to devise ways to maximise sales throughout the day since stores had to pay for rent and labour anyway.

A case in the point was Taco Bell, which recently started highlighting snacks in its ads to drive sales during the slower late afternoon hours. Also the fruit shakes and other drinks at McDonald's serve to attract people throughout the day.

In another development Starbucks turned its shareholders meeting into an episode of the Oprah Winfrey show on Wednesday, AP reported.

The celebrity talk show host appeared on stage to announce a drink called the Oprah Chai that will be sold at Starbucks cafes starting 29 April. The drink would also be on offer at the small chain of Teavana tea shops bought by the company recently.

The move comes with Starbucks looking to tap into tea as a new sales driver. Though Starbucks cafes continue to enjoy strong sales growth, competition had been intensifying as fast-food chains and others crowded the coffee market.

Before he welcomed Winfrey on the stage at the annual meeting, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz noted that he wanted to "ignite and transform" the tea category. He had repeatedly said in recent months that he wanted to make tea as popular as he helped make coffee with Starbucks.

At the time of its acquisition Teavana had around 300 locations. The stores located mostly in shopping malls, sell packaged and loose leaf teas, rather than prepared drinks or food.

However, according to Starbucks, it planned to open more free-standing locations and recently opened a Teavana tea shop in New York City that looked more like a cafe and served a variety of small dishes.