None in Washington or Seattle, yet.
Starbucks said last week that it would close 600 underperforming U.S. stores, but did not specify which ones. The move is expected to affect 12,000 employees.
The closures will be spread out until 2009. The Seattle coffee chain is suffering from a lagging economy and rising food and gas prices.
"Poor real estate decisions that were made, coupled with a very troubled economy, convinced us that these stores would not reach acceptable levels of profitability," Chief Executive Howard Schultz wrote in a memo to employees earlier this week. "We have been criticized by some observers for not publicizing the complete list of store closures at the time of the announcement. Out of respect, we felt that it was important to first inform our partners (employees) in the stores targeted for closure."
Each month, after closure dates have been communicated to employees, Starbucks will update its list.
The company is expected to start offering new products, including health drinks, next week.
The closures will be spread out until 2009. The Seattle coffee chain is suffering from a lagging economy and rising food and gas prices.
"Poor real estate decisions that were made, coupled with a very troubled economy, convinced us that these stores would not reach acceptable levels of profitability," Chief Executive Howard Schultz wrote in a memo to employees earlier this week. "We have been criticized by some observers for not publicizing the complete list of store closures at the time of the announcement. Out of respect, we felt that it was important to first inform our partners (employees) in the stores targeted for closure."
Each month, after closure dates have been communicated to employees, Starbucks will update its list.
The company is expected to start offering new products, including health drinks, next week.
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