Starbucks to open 12,000 coffee shops as it targets five-year growth guidance

US coffee shop chain Starbucks has announced plans to add 12,000 more stores worldwide after it unveiled a new five-year growth plan which will attempt to increase its annual revenue by 10%.

The company announced last week that current CEO and Starbucks veteran Howard Schultz was stepping down from his position, and would be replaced by current chief operating officer Kevin Johnson.

Schultz however said that he would not be leaving the company, but taking a lower position to oversee the development of a new brand of high-end coffee shops, which will make up at least 1,000 of the 12,000 new stores.

During the company's investor day in Manhattan on Wednesday it also said that it expected to expand its earnings per share by between 15% and 20% annually.

In an attempt to cement those figures, Schultz said that there would be an added emphasis on its food products, which he said could achieve double growth in the period.

"There's so much more growth, so much more opportunity, leveraging technology, leveraging innovation, and you can see that come through in what we do," Schultz said.

Starbucks also announced new features for its mobile app, which will soon include a voice command function which allows orders to be placed using only the user's voice.

Shares in the company were up slightly by 0.3% during pre-market trade.