Starbucks closing 600 stores!

because their coffee sucks

I literally LOL'd at that comment, Sizzlack! Very funny, and true....

Sizzlack "because their coffee sucks" and no one can afford it anymore. Well most renters still have a couple of dollars, but then again Sizzlack said it all.

Oh, darn--that means there'll be only one Charbucks per block rather than three... whatever will we do?

Dunkin Donuts kicks its ass

How am I supposed to get my Venti Cafe Latte? :(

Seriously it's a sign of the economy. It's no longer feasible to spend $6 on a coffee drink.

zorter must be a New Englander. Dunkin rules up there.

I guess it is all a matter of personal taste, I think Starbucks coffee is great. I try very hard though to not stop there to get my fix as I feel that company is primarily responsible for driving up the cost of coffee to unreasonable prices. And yeah with this slow economy I think Starbucks is going to have some real problems because people aren't going to be willing to shell out $5 on a coffee drink. Their price markups are ridiculous.

I've been railing against Starbucks for years. Their coffee has always sucked and has always been overpriced. They were masters at establishing a "scene" at their shops which suckers bought into hand over fist. Now, folks realize they've been schmucks that whole time. I am a coffee lover and have alway found their coffee to be atrocious. DD is much better, as is McDs. Frankly, street coffee is much better and its 75 cents.

"It's no longer feasible to spend $6 on a coffee drink."

Seriously, how is it that it was EVER feasible to spend that much on coffee?

I guess the reality is that with $4+/gal gas people aren't going out to get their "venti sugar-free non fat soy machiato latte" or whatever they order. If you order a cup of coffee and not some fancy ass bullshit drink you'd find out they are a lot cheaper. I don't frequent starbucks, but anytime I have ever been in one I haven't paid more than $2 for coffee, which although not cheap is acceptable.

My biggest gripe with starbucks is how they spread like cancer. That and the fact that I usually have to wait for what is the easiest order while people in front of you order 10 different versions of what most be the most complicated beverages available. It's like being in a pub waiting for a beer while every a-hole orders 25 mixed drinks. Where's the express line? I'm not suggesting their coffee is in any way "gourmet", they take it a little far with the roasting sometimes. In comparison to the brown sugar water most Americans drink it is an improvement though.

Each business is unique but they all share many things in common. The history of Benetton and Krispy Kreme's over-expansion may be instructive history lessons for Starbucks. Keep an eye on Pinkberry which is on the cusp of the fad/over-expansion abyss, too.

May as well throw Boston Garden into the mix, too.

Starbucks will be crazy if they close any of their Manhattan stores. They will likely close their stores in the far out exurbs where there is less business.

"Boston Garden"

What do the Celtics have to do with it?

boston market?

do those still exist?

kylewest, public retailers have no choice, they have to show growth. Have a look at any public retailer that has been around a while and they probably have 15-20% more stores than they should have. You can only comp so much. Public markets reward the wrong behavior in retail, way to top line focused. That why equity firms are buying these suckers, taking them private, sheding the shit stores, and managing them for cash.

I don't think many of the closed Starbuck's will be in NYC, and probably none in Manhattan. There's always people standing in line. They've probably opened stores in places like Wall, South Dakota. In fact, there was supposed to have been price reductions and other new bargains introduced within the last year, but I saw none of them introduced in Manhattan.

Re: over-expansion: it's one thing to grow your business. It's another to oversaturate markets without finding a way keep the business fresh yet not moving too far from the business's roots that made it popular to start with. Starbucks hasn't found the formula yet and the chickens have come home to roost--at least for now. I wouldn't count them out yet.

are there still two Starbucks directly across the street from each other in Astor Place?

"I wouldn't count them out yet."

No one counted them "out". Their stock is crap and the mystique is gone. McD's is a viable alternative (perhaps not in Manhattan, but for sure everywhere else where McD's are actually nice).