Peet’s Coffee & Tea will rebrand at least 88 Caribou Coffee locations and close 80 more following a decision by new owners Joh. A. Benckiser.
The German-based conglomerate acquired the chain for $340 million and took it private paying $16 a share (a 30% premium) following the purchase of Peet’s Coffee & Tea. The 20-year-old Caribou is the second largest coffeehouse chain in the U.S., had no debt and was highly profitable.
In a prepared release, Caribou CEO and President Mike Tattersfield, said 80 stores described as “underperforming” will close Sunday. He said a core of 468 locations in Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Kansas North Carolina and Denver, Colo., would retain the familiar moose logo while 88 stores in surrounding states would be rebranded.
Caribou will disappear from Ohio, which has 32 outlets and will close six Chicago area stores in Illinois where Peet’s currently operates 200 coffee shops. Caribou’s profitable locations in Chicago will be converted by 2015 along with five stores in Milwaukee and operations in Michigan, Maryland, Washington DC, Virginia and Georgia. The company plans to keep its 10 international locations.
"While the decisions we've made have been difficult for our team in Minneapolis, as well as our team members across the country and our guests and fans everywhere, we are working to make this transition as seamless as possible for the Caribou community," Tattersfield said.
Source: Caribou Coffee