Never enough Starbuck storefonts

“Over the last few weeks, I have been in a number of U.S. cities and observed firsthand the abundance of empty storefronts across the country, in prime A1 locations,” Schultz said in the memo, which was released by Starbucks. “We are at a major inflection point as landlords across the country will be forced (sooner than later) to permanently lower rent rates to adjust to the ‘new norm.’” Schultz, who retired as Starbucks’ chief executive officer last year, blames the rash of empty stores on lower customer traffic and the high cost of leases signed in the past three to seven years. That’s left plenty of room for Starbucks to expand its U.S. restaurants, including its newer Reserve and Princi locations.