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Teavana

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Teavana Corporation
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryBeverage
Founded1997;27 years ago(1997)
Phipps Plaza
Atlanta,Georgia,U.S.
Headquarters2401 Utah Avenue South,
Seattle, Washington
,
U.S.
ProductsLoose-Leaf Tea
Made-to-order tea beverages
Tea-Related Products
ParentStarbucks(2012–present)

Teavana Corporationis an Americanteacompany, which previously had locations throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, and the Middle East.[1]Starbucksacquired Teavana in 2012, and in 2017, Starbucks announced it would close all Teavana locations by 2018. As of 2022, a very limited variety of Teavana products continue to be sold at Starbucks.[2]

History

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TheNew York Stock Exchangeon July 28, 2011, when Teavana had itsinitial public offering,which raised roughly $121 million

Teavana was started inAtlanta,Georgia, in 1997, with the opening of a teahouse atPhipps Plaza.[3]Teavana was founded by Andrew T. Mack, and his wife, who invested their life savings into the business.[4]Their idea was inspired by a road trip, noticing the gravitation of Americans towards fine wines and coffees in the United States.[5]

In late 2012,Starbucksstated that it would pay $620 million in cash to buy the company.[6]Threeclass-action lawsuitswere commenced by shareholders of Teavana concerning the Starbucks buyout; these were settled on December 14, 2012 (subject to court approval).[7]The acquisition of Teavana by Starbucks was formally closed on December 31, 2012.[2][8]On July 27, 2017, Starbucks announced it would close all 379 Teavana stores by 2018, partly due to underperformance.[9][10]

Simon Property Group,one of the largest U.S. mall operators, demanded Starbucks keep running the Teavana shops located in its malls, arguing in part that their closing would reduce traffic to surrounding stores and in December 2017 a judge ruled in Simon's favor.[11]On September 15, 2017,Cadillac Fairviewsued Starbucks over Teavana closures in Canada.[12]

However, on January 18, 2018, Simon and Starbucks reached an agreement that would close the remaining 77 Teavana stores in Simon malls, ending the tea shop's existence as independent storefronts after nearly 21 years in business.[13]

Products

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Teavana offered hot teasachetsand premadeiced teawhich are sold at Starbucks locations, as well as at supermarkets and external retailers where tea is sold.

Prior to the closure of all of their storefront locations, Teavana's retail stores were usually located in upscale shopping malls and designed to be "part tea bar, part tea emporium."[14]Individual cups of tea to go were offered for sale, and the retail locations offered freesamplesof various tea blends and tea varieties at their front door and within the store. Accessories for tea-drinking, such as cups and pots were also available in the stores.[15]

Teavana previously offered loose-leaf teas and herbal infusions, with tea categories such as:white,black,green,flavored & scented green, "blooming" white, flavored & scented black,oolong,andpu-erhteas, along withrooibos,herbal,organic matcha green tea,blooming tea,andYerba Matéinfusions. Teavana retail stores had previously offered various blends of each type of tea, and frequently promoted cross-blending different types of tea.[16]Teas were offered in several formats, such as loose-leaf tea, pre-filled tea tins, and tea sachets, or brewed as a to-go beverage.

In addition to loose tea, Teavana sold teaware products, including cast ironTetsubinteapots,Bone Chinateapots, Japanese porcelain teapots and cups, stove-topkettles,electric kettles, milk frothers and automatic tea makers (produced by Australian companyBreville), Japanese hot water dispensers and electric tea makers (produced byZojirushi), tea measures, tea infusion and steeping wares such as the Teavana 'Perfectea Maker', contour tumblers, and tea infuser mugs. Teavana also sold all-naturalrock sugar(non-GMO beet sugar) sourced from Belgium.[17]

Teavana in Nashville, Tennessee, as shown in 2008

Philanthropy

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Supporting education

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In April 2014, Starbucks and Teavana collaborated withOprah Winfreyto develop a tea called Teavana Oprah Chai Tea, along with additional tea accessories. For every sale of Oprah Chai Tea products, Starbucks would make a donation to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Foundation Academy, which supports youth education and funds theOprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girlsin South Africa.[18]Teavana and Starbucks have raised $5M in support of education for young people with the chai tea. In result of the partnership, Teavana then partnered with the New York-based organization Girls, Inc. to further support youth education and mentorship.[19]

Teavana and Starbucks also had a program to assist employees in enrolling with Arizona State online classes through their College Achievement Plan.[19]

Ethical tea partnership

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On April 1, 2015, Teavana joined theEthical Tea Partnership(ETP), an initiative that ensures ethical production and distribution of tea products, by "factory health and safety, safe use ofagrochemicals,human resource management, and environmental management. "The ETP also monitors for issues that cannot be tracked with audits and certification, such as discrimination and living conditions of the workers.[20]

See also

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  • Tazo,another tea brand, formerly owned by Starbucks

References

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  1. ^"Map of retail locations".Teavana.Archived fromthe originalon May 3, 2011.RetrievedMay 3,2011.
  2. ^abAllison, Melissa (December 31, 2012)."Starbucks closes Teavana deal".The Seattle Times.RetrievedMarch 1,2013.
  3. ^SanSone, Arricca Elin; Frere, Jackie; Chilton, Charlotte (October 4, 2019)."The Iconic Stores You Grew up With That Are No Longer Around".Good Housekeeping.RetrievedApril 6,2020.
  4. ^Holden, Ronald."Starbucks Shutters All 379 Teavana Stores".Forbes.RetrievedApril 6,2020.
  5. ^Rubner, Justin (February 7, 2005)."Leaves of Green".Atlanta Business Chronicle.RetrievedJanuary 3,2019.
  6. ^Choi, Candice (November 15, 2012)."Starbucks Buys Teavana".Huffington Post.Archived fromthe originalon November 18, 2012.
  7. ^Gasparro, Annie (December 14, 2012)."Teavana Reaches Settlement With Shareholders Over Starbucks Deal".Deal Journal.Wall Street Journal.RetrievedMarch 1,2013.
  8. ^"Starbucks Closes Teavana Acquisition"(Press release). Starbucks Newsroom. December 31, 2012. Archived fromthe originalon March 5, 2013.RetrievedMarch 1,2013.
  9. ^"Starbucks is shutting all Teavana stores".Los Angeles Times.Associated Press.July 27, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 3,2019.
  10. ^Hirsch, Lauren (November 2, 2017)."Starbucks tanks on revenue miss, to sell Tazo tea brand to Unilever".CNBC.RetrievedNovember 3,2017.
  11. ^Peterson, Hayley (January 1, 2018)."A tsunami of store closings is about to hit the US — and it's expected to eclipse the retail carnage of 2017".Business Insider.RetrievedJanuary 3,2019.
  12. ^"Cadillac Fairview Sues Starbucks Over Teavana Closures".Retail Insider.September 18, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 11,2018.
  13. ^"Starbucks and Simon Reach Agreement in Teavana Store Closure Dispute".Commercial Observer.January 18, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 21,2018.
  14. ^"About Us".Teavana.Archived fromthe originalon March 2, 2010.RetrievedOctober 13,2011.
  15. ^Taylor, Kate."Starbucks is the latest victim of the retail apocalypse".Business Insider.RetrievedApril 6,2020.
  16. ^"Teavanna Tea Blends".Archived fromthe originalon November 13, 2013.RetrievedOctober 23,2013.
  17. ^"Teavana® Belgian Rock Sugar 1 Lb".Teavana Store.Archived fromthe originalon January 12, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 11,2018.
  18. ^"Teavana Oprah Chai Tea Debuts at Starbucks and Teavana Stores in the U.S. and Canada".Starbucks Stories.April 29, 2014.Archivedfrom the original on April 19, 2021.RetrievedNovember 18,2022.
  19. ^ab"Giving Back".Teavana.Archived fromthe originalon November 6, 2016.RetrievedNovember 3,2016.
  20. ^"What We Do".Ethical Tea Partnership.RetrievedNovember 8,2016.
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