Starbucks shares rose about five per cent before the bell on Wednesday as the coffee chain’s strong quarterly sales signaled CEO Brian Niccol’s turnaround plan was bearing fruit. A simplified menu and investments in store and labor operations were some of the highlights of Niccol’s “Back to Starbucks” initiative.

Mr. Niccol on Tuesday laid out plans to upgrade the esthetic design of stores, including a lower cost “coffee house of the future” design and pledged more than half a billion dollar in investments in thousands of stores across the U.S. next year.