Starbucks now says will keep breakfast sandwiches

LOS ANGELES, July 25 (Reuters) - Starbucks Corp (SBUX.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Friday it would continue sales of hot breakfast sandwiches and that it changed the recipe to make their smell interfere less with the aroma of coffee.

Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz had said in January that the company would pull hot breakfast sandwiches from stores later this year because customers complained about the overwhelming smell.

"We are not reversing our decision to replace the breakfast sandwiches, but rather we are continuing to evolve our food offerings," Starbucks said in a statement.

"We have made ingredient changes to the current breakfast sandwich lineup. We have found small ingredient changes that address the aroma issues of our current breakfast sandwiches, and have implemented these already," the company said.

Starbucks, which has been grappling with higher costs and slower customer traffic, is closing 600 underperforming stores by early next year to boost sagging results. (Reporting by Lisa Baertlein)