Starbucks says anti-bias training hurt sales

Starbucks officials said closing its stores nationwide for an afternoon in May to conduct anti-bias training impacted it sales over the past quarter.

The Associated Press reported Thursday that officials said shutting down the stores for the day lowered comparable-store sales by less than half a percent.

Starbucks held the training after an employee at a Philadelphia store called police on two black men who were at the store but did not order anything.

{mosads}

The incident sparked a national outcry. Starbucks also announced that going forward, stores would allow anyone to use its bathrooms without having to buy a product.

The company said in its third-quarter earnings report Thursday that total sales increased by 11.5 percent to $6.31 billion, compared to $5.66 billion during the same quarter last year, CNBC reported.

Revenue was slightly below estimates, with the company earning $6.23 billion compared to the expected $6.25 billion.

Sales increased by 1 percent at established stores in the U.S., after the number of sales declined but the amount spent during each visit rose, according to the AP.

Starbucks has cited health concerns over its beverages like Frappuccinos for lower sales.