In a cost saving move, Starbucks is shuttering 600 stores, with job losses totaling in excess of 12,000. Long the ubiquitous coffee retailer, the java giant has noted that (1) McDonald's and Dunkin Donuts has been "eating their lunch" winning coffee tastings and now offering free wifi and confortable louges and (2) the retailer is no longer "special" with the now-jettisoned breakfast sandwiches, increasingly dirty stores, inconsistent brew and stores on every corner. In an effort to getting back to its core business and core market, Starbucks head roaster, Howard Schultz, has high hopes for the newly-reengineered, post-closure chain.

I'm sure that this is not the only changes the coffee retailer will be making in the near term. After the beans settle, I'm certain there will be other store closures. What has long bothered me about $tarbuck$ is that it says it is "really selling an experience." OK, but in truth they're using the Walgreens hedgehog (read Good to Great for an explanation) of ubiquity--being everywhere. Hell with the experience. Me? I would have closed those stores in Targets--the ones next to the pizza stands and bedraggle stoppers--and any other location that didn't have the customer feel "special." Because in not doing so, McDonald's, which is now offering free Wifi and cafe lounges, will continue to eat up their market share.

Here's the list of Indiana store closures (click here for the rest of the national list). Promise not to cry if you see your store on the list. Central Indiana stores are highlighted.

INDIANA

11499 WAYNE & CALVARY 1426 N WAYNE ST ANGOLA IN
11500 I-74 & SR 229 14 ALPINE DR BATESVILLE IN
7989 SHERMAN & ALBANY 1718 CHURCHMAN AVE BEECH GROVE IN
13201 SR 1 & LOWE'S 2133 N MAIN ST BLUFFTON IN
2365 CARMEL 2316 E 116TH ST CARMEL IN
13805 RTE 53 & 109TH 10761 BRDWAY CROWN POINT IN
9760 LLOYD EXPRESSWAY & RED BANK 5000 W LLOYD EXPRESSWAY EVANSVILLE IN
13948 SR 3 & LINCOLN 1703 N LINCOLN ST GREENSBURG IN
2549 GREENDALE CENTRE 789 US 31 GREENWOOD IN
2489 38TH & MERIDIAN 3778 N MERIDIAN ST INDIANAPOLIS IN (Lalita: Ouch! Getting a cuppa tea while fighting the homeless and junkies for my cash will be missed.)
2499 96TH & ALLISONVILLE 9642 ALLISONVILLE RD INDIANAPOLIS IN
2591 THE PRECEDENT 3855 E 96TH ST INDIANAPOLIS IN
9433 FALL CREEK & COLLEGE 2910 N COLLEGE AVE INDIANAPOLIS IN
10508 W 38TH & GEMCO 5060 W 38TH ST INDIANAPOLIS IN
11846 16TH & SHARON 3021 W 16TH ST INDIANAPOLIS IN
13444 KEYSTONE & NATIONAL 3801 S KEYSTONE AVE INDIANAPOLIS IN
10074 SR 3 & PARKVIEW 1902 S MEMORIAL DR NEW CASTLE IN
11722 METROPOLIS MALL 2499 FUTURA PKWY PLAINFIELD IN
11354 RTE 6 & AUGUSTA 6200 US HWY 6 PORTAGE IN
10739 US 50 & JACKSON PARK 1250 E TIPTON ST SEYMOUR IN
11504 CLEVELAND & PORTAGE 3600 PORTAGE RD SOUTH BEND IN
2704 SPEEDWAY & CUNNINGHAM 5945 CRAWFORDSVILLE RD SPEEDWAY IN
9521 US 41 & HART 2605 HART ST VINCENNES IN

Looks like the 38th Street corridor and the north end of town took a beating. Just as an interesting point of reference, LA lost only two stores to our seven, three are stopping operations in Sacramento and a whopping 10 in San Diego. Makes me wonder which set of miscreants was asleep at the switch to have green-lighted the opening of so many stores past the saturation point, particularly in overly-caffeinated San Diego. Even a fouth grader could look at market trends and see that Starbucks had been in trouble for quite some time.

As many of you know, I'm not a fan of RIF's as a way to "clean up" bad business decisions. As an executive coach focusing on business and people strategy, I know that workforce reductions should be the last resort after having made careful decisions along the way. You wouldn't want a doc who was amputation-happy, now would you? Didn't think so. Neither would one want company leaders who, ignoring reports of organizational "pain" (increased competition, declining revenues, changes in purchasing patterns), opt to make workforce cuts to clean up their messes without working to ensure that they've gotten to the root of the malaise.

Cross-posted at Smaller Indiana and Like Nobody's Business

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