Starbucks plans to close 600 U.S. stores, fire 12,000

by JeffHuang | July 1, 2008 at 05:31 pm | 347 views | 3 comments

I am quite surprised by this. Just yesterday while I was driving back from dinner, I saw two starbucks that I have not noticed before. In Vancouver it seems like Starbucks is more prevalent than ever, but I guess this story is referring to the U.S. But wow, 600 stores. Maybe this is also attributed to the Latte Prices hitting record high couple weeks ago.

Starbucks Corp., the world's largest chain of coffee shops, plans to close 600 "underperforming" U.S. stores and eliminate as many as 12,000 jobs as it tries to reverse declining customer visits.

The job reductions, which amount to about 7 percent of the company's workforce worldwide, will include full- and part-time employees at the chain's U.S. stores, Seattle-based Starbucks said today in a regulatory filing.

Starbucks, headed by Howard Schultz since January, has slowed its expansion in the U.S. after doubling the number of stores in the past four years. The company said today it plans to open 200 stores through September 2009.

Cash-strapped consumers facing record gasoline prices are pulling back on so-called affordable luxuries, including gourmet coffee, causing Starbucks' sales to slow and earnings to fall in the second quarter.

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Caoimhin1

at 19:12 on July 1st, 2008

good stuff:

JeffHuang, I like this story. It's good stuff.

kodak_an

at 03:53 on July 2nd, 2008

Here in Makati, Philippines, Starbucks is sprouting like mushrooms. So whatever their plans of closing shops in the U.S. are, I don't think we'll start missing their coffee here anytime soon. People here waste a good deal of money just hangin' out for hours on end doin' anything from short business meetings, to just waiting for their spouses so they can both share a ride home. As with the continuing rise of fuel prices everywhere, I'm sure also that their stores will rise up to the occassion. Although we see a tremendous increase of fuel prices almost every week, most of us here seem not to be generally affected... that's 'coz most of us prefer not to have cars to begin with. We'd rather park our sensitive arses inside cabs 'coz it's much easier to go around that way. So no monthly bills to pay off an extravagant car. There you go!

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