STARBUCKS COFFEE Company yesterday announced it has closed five of its stores in Ireland.

The stores, shut yesterday, were in Ranelagh, Dundrum Hughes Hughes, Swords Hughes Hughes, Dalkey and Tallaght.

A spokesperson said: “In January of this year, Starbucks announced it would close approximately 100 stores in its international markets (non-US).

“Following a review of our Irish stores, which has been previously flagged, we can confirm with regret that we will close five stores in Ireland . . . in an effort to prepare for the future and to ensure we have a strong foundation to support our long-term goals,” the statement continued.

Employees from the affected stores will be redeployed to other outlets. “We remain committed to the Irish market and will emerge from the review that we have undertaken with a stronger store portfolio focused on providing the best possible service and value to our customers,” the statement said.

The company added that the decision to shut the five outlets was “extremely difficult because of the impact that it will have on our partners, customers and the communities where we operate”.

Starbucks opened its first store in the Republic at the Dundrum Town Centre in August 2005.

This was followed by a second at College Green in Dublin in September of that year.

Earlier this year, however, it emerged that losses at the Irish arm of the US coffee giant rose 15-fold last year after the company recorded an impairment charge of €3.97 million due to underperforming stores in Ireland.

Accounts filed by Starbucks Coffee Company (Ireland) showed its accumulated losses stood at €7.6 million.