Starbucks released the full list of company owned stores slated to close. Their list is on their website in a downloadable PDF format. But another site has posted the list for people that want to be able to search by state. Here is the searchable link of Starbucks stores that will be closing. According to the news stories I read today, they are blaming poor real estate decisions for the majority of the underperforming stores. Well, duh! But let me suggest that the real estate people were working under specific direction from those in the ivory tower, and the company’s arrogance is the real reason for their current problems.
It breaks my heart to read that Starbucks is finally admitting their own fallacies in overpopulating their stores. For years they were the golden goose - Starbucks could do no wrong. Well the gold turns out to just be brass and it’s starting to tarnish.
I said to people in the real estate industry TWO YEARS AGO that Starbucks was choosing poor locations and oversaturating some markets. I said TWO YEARS AGO that Starbucks would only have the honeymoon period on these for poor locations for a short time and that they would be closing stores.
I would hate to work for Starbucks in the real estate department these days. Instead of the excitement and fun of finding new locations, those poor souls are busy crying the blues to landlords and trying to find ways to negotiate out of their long term leases. It’s a Lose-Lose situation for the real estate department and for the landlords. After all, if Starbucks couldn’t make a profit leasing that space, who on earth can?
All of us girls from work are going to the Renaissance Festival today. We each have costumes and we’re all dressing up like town wenches. I live the farthest away from the Castle, so I’ll just drive down myself and meet them there at the gate.
I’ve been to this Ren Fest so many times and always had a great time. I’ve been to the one in Maryland, too - that one is much larger and open much longer. Ours is only here for the month of May, so we’re hoping for nice weather and a great time today.
I hate to admit this, but when I was just a kid, the cost of a stamp for the first class mail was under ten cents. Back then we also had “air mail” that was considered quite the luxury and mostly reserved for overseas mail. Of course nowadays it almost all goes by air if it’s not just across town.
I love the 24 hour post office at the airport. It has saved the day for me many times that I’ve had to rush down there late at night to get something important sent off before midnight.
I don’t really mind that the stamps went up again. I honestly don’t use the regular mail much anymore anyways. I pay almost all my bills online using my bank’s free billpay and I stay in touch with friends and relatives online. There’s not much need for me to even buy stamps to keep them on hand - I’m better off taking the occasional piece of mail to the 24 hour post office and just pay them at the counter when the need arises.
Last night there was a knock on my door and I was surprised but happy to see the local florist’s delivery guy standing at the door with a cute little arrangement of cut flowers in a pink case. My kids sent me the flowers for Mother’s Day - thanks to their dad being nice enough - or prodded and nagged enough by his new wife and my kids - to order them for me. I put them right on my desk next to the computer monitor so I can look at them all day and all night.
The kids also called me this morning to say “Happy Mother’s Day” - that was so sweet! We actually talked for almost an hour - they were telling me about their friends and their trip to see their paternal grandparents. My son was very talkative for a change - that was nice.
I can’t wait to see them next month and have them here all summer!