Mount Pleasant Starbucks on list of expected store closures

By ASHLEY TOMPKINS - Tribune City Editor
Saturday, July 19, 2008 3:28 PM CDT

Mount Pleasant's Starbucks, only four months into its operation, is in jeopardy of closing along with approximately 600 stores across the nation found to be underperforming.

On Friday, Starbucks released its full list of stores it plans to close, including those in Mount Pleasant and Paris.

The closures, according to the company, are a significant step toward improving its long-term profitable growth.

Mount Pleasant store manager Todd Rothfuss said his store learned a couple of weeks ago it is included on the list, but he's not losing hope.

The stores identified for closure were deemed not profitable at the store level and did not provide acceptable returns in the near future.

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Employees and Mount Pleasant residents are already putting up a fight.

"I've received several hundred e-mails from people wanting to know what they can do to keep the store here, and people are e-mailing the corporate office," Rothfuss said. "I do think the town enjoys us being here and people are rallying behind us."

He said it's hard to say when the store might close. The majority of store closures are slated to take place during the remainder of fiscal 2008 and the first half of fiscal 2009.

Stores are expected to be given at least a 30-day notice before closure.

Still, Rothfuss said nothing is set in stone. There is still a chance Mount Pleasant's store could be given a chance to prove itself, given that it has not operated and shown what type of business it can draw during winter months, the company's busiest season.

Pat Adams, Mount Pleasant/ Titus County Chamber of Commerce executive vice president, said the Chamber is disappointed in the company's decision.

The company said it used several criteria to identify stores for closure including profitability and market-specific criteria.

"The paint in the Mount Pleasant store isn't even dry," Adams said. "How can they expect to judge its profitability?"

Adams said it was the company's decision to put the store inside the city, thereby determining the market, which narrows when the economy is challenged as it is today.

In a July 1 letter to Starbucks employees, company Chief Executive Officer Howard Schultz said the decision to close stores was hard, but necessary.

There are more than 7,200 company-operated stores across the nation.

"Throughout the history of our company, we have always aspired to put our people first. This makes our decision to close stores more difficult, as it disrupts the lives of our partners, who have worked so hard to deliver superior service to our customers," Schultz wrote. "By far, this is the most angst-ridden decision we have made in my more than 25 years with Starbucks."

The company now expects to open fewer than 200 U.S. company-operated stores in fiscal 2009.

Starbucks enthusiast Ron Davis, Titus Regional Medical Center chief executive officer and Chamber president, said the store is not going down without a fight.

Already, he has contacted District 4 U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn for support. Davis said Hall agreed to write a letter backing the store and expects the senator to do the same.

He's also planning to contact U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, District 3 State Rep. Mark Homer, and District 1 State Sen. Kevin Eltife.

"If we lose this store, it's not because we didn't put up a fight," Davis said.

He also sent out an e-mail to the hospital's 750-plus employees, asking them to e-mail or call the company to support the store.

"I am disturbed by Starbucks. It's only been open since February. It hasn't been given a chance," Davis said. "Those employees left other jobs they had to come and make that store happen. Don't cut us off."

Stores identified in the closure are spread across all major U.S. markets. Approximately 70 percent of them opened since the beginning of fiscal 2006.

"We were proud to have them in our community and to have them as a member of the Chamber. This closure leaves people without jobs and a vacant building," Adams added. "That is not the direction we want to go."

Adams provided the following e-mail addresses for those who want to contact the corporate office: Howard Schultz, hschultz@starbucks.com; Christy Linn, investorrelations@starbucks.com; Deb Trevino, press@starbucks.com; and Todd Rothfuss, t_rothfuss@hotmail.com.