The Seattle-based company said Tuesday that the store closings, coupled with a scaled-back expansion plan for its next fiscal year, will help the specialty coffee giant meet its longer-term targets for profitability. While Chief Financial Officer Pete Bocian said in a conference call, "We believe absolutely we're seeing a major impact from the economy," he also acknowledged that Starbucks' aggressive growth strategy of recent years created problems with cannibalized sales and market saturation.
Looking ahead, management will use a "much higher level of scrutiny on store performance to make sure we take action earlier," Bocian said.
Everyone has been brushed by wind of irrational exuberance. Lesson learned.
