ASHEVILLE - A list of Starbucks stores expected to close under CEO Brian Niccol's "Back to Starbucks" transformation strategy is circulating, with several locations in North Carolina included.

Niccol informed employees in a message distributed on Sept. 25 that Starbucks would close about 1% of its stores. The company did not confirm the store locations, but Niccol said in the memo sent to employees and posted on the Starbucks blog that they're "where we’re unable to create the physical environment our customers and partners expect, or where we don’t see a path to financial performance."

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