KarstadtQuelle puts back recovery date
Starbucks to buy out German joint venture
German retail group KarstadtQuelle has put back forecasts for its return to profit by a year.
At a shareholder meeting called to approve the restructuring of the department store to mail order group, chairman Christoph Achenbach told said the company does not now expect to turn in a profit until 2006, instead of 2005 as previously indicated.
Earlier this month, the group revised its sales forecast for the current year, saying it expects a seven per cent sales decline compared to previous forecasts of 4.5 to 5 per cent as previously anticipated. The restructuring plan includes thousands of job cuts as well as store closures.
[img r]StarBuckslogo.jpg[/img]KarstadtQuelle, which had already announced its withdrawal from a joint venture with Starbucks, has confirmed that the US coffee bar giant is to buy out the 82 per cent of the business owned by the German retailer.
There are now 37 Starbucks outlets in 15 German cities. A sole owner, Starbuckswill retain the 450 employees of the business. The terms of the deal were not revealed.
