DAMIEN BROWN
July 29, 2008 05:00pm
COFFEE giant Starbucks has run out of beans in Tasmania.
Late today Starbucks Coffee International announced it would close 61 of its "underperforming locations" including Hobart that has only been open for a little over a year.
Chairman, president and CEO Howard Schultz said the company would refocus on its three core markets in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney.
Out of the 84 stores around Australia, only 23 will remain open.
It follows the early closure of the Elizabeth Street Mall store just after 2pm yesterday.
Coffee drinkers and fans of the chain were told to leave a short time later.
A sign on the door announcing the closure not answering the questions of bewildered passers-by.
The company closed all of its Australian stores at 2pm to enable managers to take part in a 4pm phone hook-up with the parent company in Seattle.
Hobart management refused to comment yesterday on how the closure will affect the Tasmanian staff.
It is also not known how the closure will affect the chain's loyal coffee club card members who will have unclaimed reward points to redeem.
The closures follow the announcement that 600 stores would close in the US due to a slowdown in the American economy.
The July 1 announcement did suggest there would be "no impact" on the company's Asia-Pacific operations.
A pair of self confessed Starbucks-addicts were some of the first to voice their disappointment at the uncertainty that is linked with the company's financial woes in the United States.
"We come here a lot, I guess you would call us fans," Canadian student Ramy Khalil said as he looked on shocked at the locked doors.
"I really just like the range of coffees, they are great, I don't know what we are going to do now."
His friend Anoop Koshy ensures a trip from Launceston is always topped off with a coffee from Starbucks.
Hobart is the chain's only store in Tasmania.
"I usually come here everytime I am down from Launceston, it is good service and I do like the coffee and the other food products they have."
The opening of the first Tasmanian store in 2007 created a stir as local coffee shop owners feared a loss of trade, job cuts and even closure as a new breed of big-name coffee brewers started to move in on the city.
There are more than 50 coffee shops around inner city Hobart.
In a statement yesterday, Mr Schultz said the closures were unique to Australia.
"It in no way reflects the strong state of Starbucks business in countries outside of the United States," he said.
"There are no other international markets that need to be addressed in this manner."
Starbucks opened its doors in the 1970s and was named after Herman Melville's Moby Dick. It has a maritime affiliation with Seattle where it first opened.
It is the largest coffee chain operator in the world but pressures from Gloria Jeans, McCafe, Hudson's and a resurgence in small independent coffee operators, has also put pressure on the company's bottomline.
The first Australian store opened Sydney's CBD in 2000.
Further information about the closures can be found at www.starbucks.com.au or by phoning the Customer Care Hotline on 1800 140 408. |
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