morning COFFEE or GAS

[renovation]

Starbucks will close more than two-thirds of its 84 stores in Australia by the end of the week under a restructuring plan announced Tuesday that will put almost 700 people out of work.

The surprise announcement came a few weeks after the global coffee shop franchise that has become ubiquitous around the world announced it was closing 600 company-owned stores in the United Sates to bolster its business.

Starbucks Coffee International, a wholly owned subsidiary of Seattle, Washington-based Starbucks Coffee Co., said it was closing the Australia stores to concentrate its business in the country's three largest cities.

There are 84 stores operating in six of Australia's eight states and territories, but 61 will close by Aug. 3, Starbucks said on its Web site. Twenty-three stores will remain open in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The company said 685 jobs would be lost because of the closures, Australian media reported.

Starbucks will post a list of stores that will close on its Web site as soon as it notifies all the employees that will be affected.

"We would like to thank all of our customers for your continued patronage and support during the past eight years," Starbucks said.
http://www.cbsnews.com:80/stories/20...n4301738.shtml

see even hard core coffee drinkers are putting there drink into the gas tank first.
hell when a cup of java is the same price as a gallon of gas. you see a lot of shaking going on at the pump withdraw from coffee has to suck. lucky for me im not a coffee drinker. but im sure some offices are even watching harder for employees stealing of java as gas prices keep going up and starbucks shutting down.

[Jeffbx]

The surprise announcement came a few weeks after the global coffee shop franchise that has become ubiquitous around the world announced it was closing 600 company-owned stores in the United Sates to bolster its business.

Now, are all 600 of those stores in Seattle?

[Jcranmer]

Can't say I will miss them. Actually I don't know if I have even tried their coffee. Too much extra crap for me, not to mention too expensive. I like just plain old coffee, thank you very much.

[nate el bueno]

Most "real coffee drinkers" (as they refer to themselves) have told me that starbucks coffee is downright repulsive. However, a little sugar and whipped cream can make anything delicious enough for me

[Markel]

Most "real coffee drinkers" (as they refer to themselves) have told me that starbucks coffee is downright repulsive.

However, a little sugar and whipped cream can make anything delicious enough for me

[Cheesypuff]

gotta have my coffee black. Mmmm...you get the full flavour with it.

[mojo]

i like starbucks. i like a lot of other coffee houses tho, too (so i'm not a "starbucks snob" or whatever).

i think that starbucks' time has just come, really. they have a good core product, but they've expanded too far to really maintain the momentum without introducing new products. but when your products are coffee and tea for the most part, you're already "typecast," so to speak. you can't just waltz up and offer smoothies and expect it to go over well.

[guiseppewv]

I am not a big coffee drinker. I have always thought that Starbucks was over saturated. In Honolulu there is like one on every other corner, and it is the same in DC.

[ShawnLee]

Eh - when I was in Aus, I preferred McDonald's and their McCafes anyways.