Starbucks To Close 600 Stores In 2009

The Vast Majority Of The Doomed Stores Opened In The Last Two Years

(AP)  Starbucks Corp. said Tuesday it will close 600 company-operated U.S. stores in the next year, up dramatically from its previous plan for 100 closures, a sign the coffee shop operator is still feeling the pain from the faltering U.S. economy.

Starbucks said in a statement that 70 percent of the stores to be closed were opened after the start of 2006. The locations set to close include ones that "were not profitable and not projected to provide acceptable returns in the foreseeable future," it said.

About 12,000 workers will be affected by the closings, which are expected to take place over the next year, according to Valerie O'Neill, a spokeswoman for the company.

O'Neill said most of the employees will be moved to nearby stores, but she did not know exactly how many jobs will be lost.

The company predicted related charges will add up to $328 million to $348 million, but said that after income tax benefits and other changes, it expects to pay about $100 million.

Starbucks also cut the number of company-operated stores it will open in fiscal 2009 in half, to fewer than 200. The company did not adjust its plan to open fewer than 400 stores in 2010 and 2011.

In May, Starbucks said its second-quarter profit sank 28 percent as U.S. consumers cut back on visits in light of rising food and gas prices.

As of the end in March, there were 16,226 Starbucks stores around the world, including 7,257 company-operated stores in the U.S.

[cantshutup]

wow...this is venti news!

[ausus-2009]

What is happening to Starbucks is part of a world-wide economic slowdown. Retailers in many countries are closing down. The exporting of jobs is endemic throughout the western world. Even Italy is selling Chinese-made goods.

On the subject of the Starbucks retail concept, imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Australia has two major popular coffee chains, Gloria Jean''s and Hudson. Both serve a similar product to Starbucks and both charge similar prices.

[naucoming4u]

Some may not feel this is a major news story, because some (on this board) do not frequent or even visit Starbucks. But in the context of the broader, worsening economy... this IS major news!

I''m quite sure many more people would take this seriously if the 600 stores closing were a major grocery or mass-merchant retailer, WalMart, Kroger, SaveMart, or Target, etc. Especially if any of those types of retailers were near by, part of an everyday routine, and mostly taken for granted... because we always expect them to be "there" for us!

[naucoming4u]

McDonalds Coffee = Minimum wage/no benefits workers

Starbucks Coffee = Great wages and Great Benefits

Most of you people are happy as long as WalMart is open 24hrs..your toilet flushes...and your cable tv works. And that''''s it. What a sad commentary on our society.

Posted by soldat44 at 05:10 PM : Jul 02, 2008
..........

Great post, and very true (sadly).

Those 12,000 (former) Starbucks employees will have a hard time finding service jobs with similar wages... and a virtual guarantee that they WILL NOT find similar jobs with health care benefits... especially for the part-timers!

Now add at least half of those 12,000 employees to the "uninsured (health)" category of the population.

600 stores is a krap-load of stores... for any retailer! Many of the major retail chains that we are all familiar with do not have 600 stores all together! Again, regardless of what some of you people think about the taste/quality of the product they serve, keep in mind how many people will be unemployed because of this economic situation. This is just the tip of the iceberg! Look for many more Starbucks closings in the near future, and even retailers that some of you have taken for granted, (grocery stores for example).

[soldat44]

McDonalds Coffee = Minimum wage/no benefits workers

Starbucks Coffee = Great wages and Great Benefits

Most of you people are happy as long as WalMart is open 24hrs..your toilet flushes...and your cable tv works. And that''s it. What a sad commentary on our society.

[soldat44]

i wouldn''''t drink a cup if it were the last cup around. i''''d rather drink Navy coffe than that horse manuer. my wife and i went to a sb''''s in missouri for a rd trip back home and i couldn''''t finish that swill, wasted 8.00. ty sb''''s for taking away precious few jobs so you can have your vacation to paris

Posted by jerriemc23 at 04:48 PM : Jul 02, 2008

Just make sure there is no ''secret ingredient'' in that Navy coffee...

BTW- What is the point of your rant? If you don''t like it ...Don''t buy it! It''s a free country.

I weep for the future...

[soldat44]

WITH $4.00 GAS WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND WOULD PAY $4-$5 FOR A CUP OF COFFEE? I''''VE NEVER BEEN IN A STARBUCKS AND NEVER WILL.

Posted by JeannetteLJ at 01:14 PM : Jul 02, 2008

So what is the point of your rant?

Oh, and by the way...your capslock key is ON.

i wouldn''t drink a cup if it were the last cup around. i''d rather drink Navy coffe than that horse manuer. my wife and i went to a sb''s in missouri for a rd trip back home and i couldn''t finish that swill, wasted 8.00. ty sb''s for taking away precious few jobs so you can have your vacation to paris

[madeupnews]

Small wonder they are closing so many stores. You need to pay for your cup of coffee in installments.

[naucoming4u]

12,000 more people out looking for work, desperately. Granted, more than half of them are young kids who are not supporting their own living and/or family, but now they will be out looking for the same entry-level service jobs that more and more older Americans, (who do have to support a family), are having to look for!

The "new economy", as it gets worse, may get to the point where you just might see some Americans applying for the same crop-picking jobs the illegals currently occupy. At that point, a Starbucks coffee would be the last thing we could afford!