Today's announcement that Starbucks would close its Teavana outlets (379 stores, 3,300 employees) marks the second time this year that the Mermaid has announced a course correction. Back in February, Starbucks finally gave up on its five-year-old Evolution Fresh concept, a venture it had jumped into on the assumption that the "health" market for cold-pressed juices would grow forever. The juices themselves will remain, but the standalone stores have been shuttered.
Neither venture grew as fast as the company had hoped. The current push is for more and better food offerings.
Earlier today, Starbucks made two significant announcements: record quarterly earnings, and a plan to buy out the 50% share of its Chinese partner, Shanghai Starbucks, for $1.3 billion. Despite the good news, though, SBUX shares fell as much as 5.8% in after-hours trading. (I own 200 shares; glub.)
in malls, for one thing, and the brick & mortar environment of malls is feeling the greatest pressure from online retailers.
So the company decided that it was time to make a move. Lunch looked like a better bet for Starbucks, and late-afternoon sips of wine.
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