Update Nov. 12: Kroger manager Latoya Lloyd confirmed today that Starbucks renewed its lease in the Crosstown location until January. The company might renew for longer. It might not. She said the two companies still are working on the details.
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Just got a hot tip that the Starbucks location inside the Kroger at Crosstown in Tupelo is closing up shop.
The coffee station will be closing on Nov. 14, leaving Tupelo with two places to get the Seattle-based company’s brew – the standalone Starbucks store farther west on Main and Barnes and Noble at The Mall at Barnes Crossing, which serves Starbucks coffee.
The news comes on the heels of yesterday’s earnings report from Starbucks. From the AP:
Starbucks 4Q profit drops 97 percent on closure costs
NEW YORK — Fewer U.S. customers and venti-sized costs for closing poorly performing stores led to lower sales and profit in the fourth quarter at Starbucks Corp., the company said Monday.Seattle-based Starbucks said profit fell 97 percent to $5.4 million, or a penny a share, from $158.5 million, or 21 cents per share, a year earlier. The coffee retailer earned 10 cents per share when the costs from closing about 600 stores in the U.S. and 61 locations in Australia are excluded.
Wonder what Kroger will use the space for once Starbucks is gone.
watermelons.
Bizz, what’s the word on Bauhaus? Heard they may be closing either the Sherman or Saltillo plant.
Furniture Today first reported that company parent La Z Boy is cutting 850 workers company-wide, or about 10 percent across the board.
I’m sure it will impact the Bauhaus plants in Saltillo and Sherman, but nobody’s saying how much, when, etc.
However, a very reliable source said a few Bauhaus employees have already been let go.
Thanks Bizz.
UM, YEAH. I seem to remember a certain discussion, with a certain coffee shop owner(rhymes with OH NO), where I said this would happen.
He said,”NO WAY, the management is great, they have a good product, good location, BLAH BLAH BLAH.”
I’LL REPEAT, $4 lattes won’t work in this ecomony.
People are conserving.
Why pay $8 for two cups of Starbucks coffee at the front of Kroger, when I can buy 1 lb. of Starbucks coffee for $8 in the back ???
Even the wealthy have gotten wise.
Hey Joe Joe, I believe this is what fultilt is trying to say to you….
LOL. Y’all are too much.
Another option to the $4 latte – drip coffee in your own mug. Many coffee shops do this and will charge you a reduced price. And, you are being eco-friendly.
Good idea Bizz.
I bet they make a lot back at Christmas. I’m more likely to buy a gift card for someone else at Starbucks than spend $4 on myself.
Oooh. I’m working on a gift card post right now. Stay tuned.
Actually, our business is growing pretty well. And, I am very grateful for our customers. Best thing we ever did was drop costly food and move to breakfast, coffee, coffee roasting, etc. Our latte business has INCREASED steadily. Starbucks has it’s own set of problems, but a lot of them are not just because people are cutting back. In fact, a lot of our regulars are spending MORE on coffee because they are not spending as much on larger ticket items.
Speaking of drip coffee, our new drip coffees right out of the roaster are very good. We have an Ethopian Harrar that is citrusy, smooth, not bitter, light, and absolutely delicious. Just ask Dennis… he had it yesterday.
By the way, the Starbucks on West Main is NOT closing, and I still believe they are doing pretty well… just watch their traffic. It’s only the Kroger location that is closing, which was licensed by Starbucks, but owned and operated by Kroger.
Come on Joe Joe, do I have to pull up Bloomberg News ???
NEW YORK –
Analysts focused Tuesday on Starbucks Corp.’s same-store sales in the fiscal fourth quarter and said softening consumer spending is crimping results for the coffee retailer.
SOFTENING CONSUMER SPENDING, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN ???
The company’s 4th quarter profit goes down 97% in a year, and you don’t think people are conserving ???
Even if you calculate what they spent closing stores, subtract that, they are still down over 60%(Motley Fool).
HONESTLY, I’m glad you’re doing well. BUT, you put yourself out there as an expert of all things eaten or drank. In the last few months, many of your posts have been disproven.
Was that really necessary? All I am really saying is that our business is doing much better, roughly 18 restaurants in Tupelo have closed within the past 18 months, mainly because of rising food costs, softer sales, transportation (shipping) costs. Boar’s Head costs were hurting us, as well as a lack of traffic, mainly due to our E Main location. But, Boar’s Head is what drove people in our door to begin with…. but that model is not sustainable in Tupelo, unless doing an enormous lunch volume, which I quickly saw we cannot do, nor want to do.
Of course I realize that the coffee market is down, as are most businesses. Nearly every industry out there is hurting, some crying for bailouts.
Are people conserving and not spending on lattes? Absolutely, never did I dispute that. Is Starbucks on West Main in Tupelo doing fine… my belief is yes, their traffic stays pretty high. Could I be wrong? absolutely!
Fact is that most businesses are struggling. Many on here gripe about Tupelo not needing $8 sandwich shops. I can tell you that McAlisters is packed just about every day for lunch, and they are opening a new location in the hospital next week I believe.
I drove out by the mall last night, and Olive Garden and Chili’s were both packed. The economy is bad, but it hasn’t totally tanked, and our business is growing.
I am very sorry if I have offended anyone by coming across as an expert. That was not my intent, and I apologize to all of you.
People are just spending beyond their means. There is a lot of talk about the economy and slow down in spending, but most of the people I talk to are just buying cheaper foods, spending less on clothing or shoes, car pooling. Not buying that extra burrito and letting their magazine subscriptions go out. People will find lots of ways to cut the fat without giving up things they really love. I love the Starbuck’s Strawberries and Creme Frappichino and the apple cider they come out with in the winter. And unless I am down to my last dollar I will be buying them whenever I want one. I’ll just cut out something else.
Guess What! I just heard from a source within Kroger that they were just able to renew their lease of Starbucks until Jan. Bizz might want to call and confirm.
Only way I’m payin $4 for a cup of coffee is if the waitress is topless.
with cream please.
tnlady – good tip. One of the managers at Kroger confirmed the news.
The Starbucks location in the Kroger will stay open until January. After that, they aren’t sure what will happen.
That’s good. The Starbucks employees there are nice. I know a couple of them well. The Starbucks in Kroger is good for the industry as a whole.
Employees did not know much about the move to close until this week. All of this is operated through the regional office in Memphis….Always the last to know. You would think with a union, communication would be better.
Now if the people who spill those $4 cups of coffee in the floor will learn how to clean up after themselves. Saw a lady yesterday put her cup in the bottom of her buggy and once she started pushing her buggy it tipped over. She had it in the middle and not braced by anything. She may have lack of true common sense. Needless to say she picked the cup up and kept walking. Irkes me to no end.
“She may have lack of true common sense.”
You should’ve known that when she paid $4 for a cup of coffee.
the starbucks in kroger is the only reason i even buy groceries….i doubt ill even go buy them any more if they quit selling coffee.
BWM, I am rolling on that one!
if yall start selling groceries jo jo…youll find me in yo neck of the woods
Hmmm….. you know we do need a fresh market (or Fresh Market) !!!
I wish we did have a small grocery like that, or even a Wild Oats
The Pig in Saltillo that is being built, supposedly, was supposed to be their answer to that Fresh Market Concept, if I am not mistaken…
Hey fulltiltgolfer, the economy is so bad that I have to pass the $4 cup of coffee at starbuck’s in kroger to get the gallon size can of Kroger’s cofee for $6 and guess what? It’s tastes just as good.
I usually just wait till I get to work where the coffee is free.
big….do you still drink it with your pinkie finger sticking out?
Joe Joe I agree with you on the FRESH MARKET/WILD OATS grocer. I really miss those since moving back to Tupelo.
I have to BWM. I sprained it when I punched a starbucks patron in the face and took his coffee.
you and romo, huh?
He knocked somebody out at Starbucks?
not 100%….but his pinkie is sprained.
Wonder if that’s something that Jessica can tell us about?
I bet it is.
See, even Tim smarted up.
I was talking with my wife about it today. She loves Starbucks, and even Joe Joe’s. BUT, with money in her pocket, she now views those $4 lattes as an occasional treat. She says her girlfriends are the same way. What used to be a daily thing, has become an every two week thing.
Softening Consumer Spending.
I think there is one positive that will come from this economic slowdown. People’s spending will make more sense.
Hopefully the days of buying Starbucks on your Visa, and paying for your groceries with Food Stamps is over.
Hey Draws, Bet those waitreses would look better after 2 cups. Free re-fills would be nice.