Starbucks is the latest victim of the retail apocalypse (SBUX)

pulse

January 18, 2018 5:51 PM

Starbucks and a mall operator reached an agreement that will allow the coffee chain to close 77 Teavana locations.

The coffee chain previously announced plans to close
In December, a judge ordered Starbucks to

A mall operator reached and agreement with Starbucks to allow the coffee chain to close 77 Teavana locations.

In July, Starbucks announced plans to close all 379 Teavana stores, with the majority shuttering by spring 2018. Teavana shops are primarily located in shopping malls, and sales had suffered with declining mall traffic in recent years.

However, in December, a judge ordered Starbucks to keep the Teavana shops open in malls after operator Simon Property Group sued the coffee chain.

Simon had argued that the closure of Teavana stores could trigger additional store closures in its malls at a time when shopping centers are under pressure from falling foot traffic and widespread retail bankruptcies.

Now, the companies have reached an agreement that will allow the 77 locations to shut down, Nation's Restaurant News reported. According to the industry publication, some of the Teavana locations have already shuttered.

"While we don’t have specifics around store closures, we can confirm that we’ve reached an agreement with Simon to settle our dispute," a Starbucks spokeswoman told NRN.

2017 was a record year for store closures, with companies announcing more than 8,000 closures. Malls are scrambling to find tenants to replace the lost stores.

While the original judges' order indicated that mall operators may have a chance to force retailers to continue to pay rent, the settlement proves that there can be little to stop the retail apocalypse sweeping the US.

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