Posted on 12/03/2017 8:41:50 AM PST by Maceman
An Indiana judge has taken an unusual step and temporarily barred Starbucks from closing 77 failing Teavana stores in Simon Property Group malls because the real estate giant was less able to handle the financial pain.
Starbucks said in July it planned to shutter its 379-store Teavana operation — but Simon rushed to court to block 77 stores in its malls from going dark — claiming such a move by a high-profile tenant could spark other stores in its malls to close.
Starbucks, after trying to turn around its stumbling tea chain, said last August it was pulling the plug on Teavana.
It wanted to close all the stores by the end of the year.
But Indianapolis-based Simon, in an environment where hundreds of stores across the country are closing, rushed to a local court to ask Judge Heather Welch to stop the store closing.
Welch, in a 55-page order, found that the very profitable Starbucks could absorb the financial hit — estimated by Starbucks to be $15 million over five months — better than Simon could. The mall operator did not provide an estimate of how much the closings of the Teavana stores would hurt them.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
And there it is.
I have seen this a few times. It does mean that the Simon group just made a very profitable chain very angry, but the lease terms do say to stay open for the term of the lease.
Quite funny, the leftist use the courts all the time to acheive their goals...
Nice to see them getting bite back
I prefer hot tea to coffee, and Starbucks does make a good cup - if they keep it out of those damned paper containers.
I don’t like Starschmucks, but this should be appealed and the judge should be removed from office.
“The post I originally replied to said we needed to get rid of lifetime appointments and that would require an amendment.”
I hate to be persistent, but there are no lifetime appointments for the federal judiciary.
The constitution now provides that a judge can be removed for behavior that is not good.
For example, if a judge decides to stand the constitution on its head and substitute their own personal preferences - that is not good behavior. It violates their oath of office. But they do it frequently and get away with it.
That is because we are sending people to Washington that are no good. A smokehouse has more guts than most Senators.
I would have to agree. A bankrupt Starbucks would have prevailed, but this is not the case. Any profitable business would have difficulty shuttering an unprofitable store and breaking their lease.
The tea is good but it is horrifically expensive.
Yep...seriously.
I do recall those days. That’s why I am saying I’ve been around a long time....I have opened and shut down a lot of stores in my retail days and this ‘ruling’ seems way outside the norm.
Teavana is a separate division and is not profitable.
Just because I offer a profitable service and a loser service...doesn’t mean I keep offering the losing item.
In fact, a smart business owner cuts their loss and moves on.
I hate to seem sexist, but in all my years, I have never read or witnessed a female judge who stuck with the law and the Constitution, with rare exception when doing so agreed with their feelings. Their "Opinions" meant exact that... and nothing more.
The Simons are very big in Indianapolis. This was a likely backroom handshake opinion.
Close the stores anyway. Let the dingbat judge enforce her ruling. Otherwise the taxpayers will be paying Starbucks for every minute these places stay open beyond what they intended.
We are NOT a free country anymore.
>> Federal Law mandated certain processes and financial consideration to minimize the negative effect on the laid off workers.
Big industry that employs entire cities creates complicated relationships. Decentralized operations that involve the already whithering shopping mall are irrelevant by comparison — IMHO.
Ayn Rand was a prophet!.....................
the commitment is just to pay rent, not to stay open. if they keep paying the rent to their end (or closing clause) they are fine.
This is a judge who has never had to work a day in his/her/it life.
[I believe that you are really a Democrat and giving stupid opinions to support your agenda.]
And you’re just stupid.
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