Starbucks to close 600 U.S. stores, cut 12,000 jobs(Starbucks smells the coffee)

Market Watch ^ | 07/01/08 | Matt Andrejczak

[TigerLikesRooster]

Starbucks to close 600 U.S. stores, cut 12,000 jobs

By Matt Andrejczak, MarketWatch

Last update: 6:43 p.m. EDT July 1, 2008

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Starbucks Corp., dragged down by a slowing U.S. economy, is pulling the plug on 600 of its underperforming U.S. coffee shops and trimming the number of stores it had planned to open over the coming year.

The shutdowns, starting now and running through March 2009, are far more than the coffee-shop chain had originally planned. In January, Starbucks said it planned to close 100 U.S. stores as part of the transformation plan set in motion by Howard Schultz shortly after he returned as CEO.

The move will eliminate 8% of the roughly 7,250 stores operated by Starbucks and cut 7% of its global workforce, or as many as 12,000 employees. The stores, the majority of which are located near another Starbucks, were opened from 2006 through 2008.

Combined, the stores aren't profitable and are spread across major U.S. markets.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Well, this mean more women would be freed from Starbuck's infamous Mocha Latte, the principal culprit for fattening American women.:-)

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[Bubba_Leroy]

Is there a publicly available list of the 600 stores that are being closed?

[NMR Guy]

They probably shouldn't have had so many Starbucks Across From Starbucks

:-)

[libs_kma]

OH NO!!! Where am I gonna get my $6.50 Mucho grande, half frap, mocha choke-a??? /s

[GreyFriar]

The last time I bought coffee in a starbucks was 1996. and that was my first time too.

[GreyFriar]

No, the problem was the starbucks at the end of the block that had 2 starbucks across from each other at the other end of the block

[barker]

Love the smell of coffee. Can’t stand the taste of it in my mouth. Not even mocha flavored candy.

[Psycho_Bunny]

I wonder if they’re going to close one of the THREE in the building across from where I work.

[wideawake]

That was actually a conscious strategy: they found that once the line in one Starbucks got to a certain length, people would decide to buy coffee someplace else.

However, if there were two Starbucks in easy walking distance, people would check the line in the other Starbucks and join if it was shorter - this actually increased average yield per store.

However, now people are deciding not to get Starbucks based more on price concerns than on speed, so their strategy has to change.

[Brandonmark]

When a gallon of gas is approaching the cost of a cup of coffee at Starbucks.....what would you expect?

[truthguy]

The latte crowd will not like this. But it is a good reminder that all of us are tied into the general economy and energy affects each and every one of us. This will be a rude awakening to those who believe they are insulated from the events of the energy/oil problem. None of us are. Many of us could lose our jobs from the fallout of this situation. And still the Democrats will do nothing. They will try to stop any attempt to drill, either in ANWR or off the East and West Coasts. Maybe when gas gets to $7-8/gal they will awake. I'm not optimistic. Most all the knuckle draggers out there are simply too stupid to understand the situation and how we got there. Want proof? Just look at the Democratic Party and the empty suit they will run for president.

[Coffee200am]

My Starbucks.....

[yankeedame]

Love the smell of coffee. Can’t stand the taste of it in my mouth. Not even mocha flavored candy.

You too!? I thought I was the only one like that!

[Coffee200am]

My Auntie can't stand it either.....but she loves black licorice....*shudder*

[TChad]

Starbucks: Home of overpriced, over-fattened, over-sweetened liquids that have coffee-like flavoring. If you want great coffee, find an independent coffee shop with a coffee fanatic owner, and ask for his best stuff. Just ignore all the “Impeach Bush” posters on the walls.

[RoadKingSE]

Starbucks!? It's just hot brown water dudes. Get a grip.

[Dr. Scarpetta]

Starbucks just opened a store in a town near me about a month ago. I personally don’t care for their coffee...

[aMorePerfectUnion]

I knew they jumped the shark when they opened a new Starbucks in the men’s room at Starbucks ...

[I got the rope]

Best Coffee I ever had was I sitting in a restaurant here:

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/sansalvador