Starbucks closes five Irish outlets

Starbucks Coffee Company has today announced it has shut five stores in Ireland.

The stores that were closed today are in Ranelagh, Dundrum Hughes & Hughes, Swords Hughes & Hughes, Dalkey and Tallaght.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the company said: "In January of this year, Starbucks announced it would close approximately 100 stores in its international markets (Non-US).

"Following a review of our Irish stores, which has been previously flagged, we can confirm with regret that we will close five stores in Ireland . . . in an effort to prepare for the future and to ensure we have a strong foundation to support our long-term goals."

The company says employees from the affected stores will be redeployed to other stores.

"We remain committed to the Irish market and will emerge from the review that we have undertaken with a stronger store portfolio focused on providing the best possible service and value to our customers," the spokesperson said.

The company added that the decision to shut the five outlets was "extremely difficult because of the impact that it will have on our partners, customers and the communities where we operate".

Starbucks opened its first store in the Republic at Dundrum Town Centre in August 2005, followed by a second store at College Green in Dublin in September.

Earlier this year, however, it emerged that losses at the Irish arm of US coffee giant rose 15-fold last year after the company recorded an impairment charge of €3.97 million due to underperforming stores in Ireland.

Accounts filed by Starbucks Coffee Company (Ireland) showed its accumulated losses stood at €7.6 million. In the year to the end of September 2008, its pre-tax losses increased to €5.4 million.