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?