Starbucks Coffee Company, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, CompUSA and Macy’s will be shutting many of their franchises’ doors starting Feb. 26, due to bankruptcy and poor sales, and Stephen Margolis, professor of economics, said these measures could be a reflection of the nation’s economic state.

“I see this occurrence as a symptom of our economic slump,” Margolis said. “Many of these chains have been aggressive with their expanding. Many of the new ‘bigger and better’ stores have also come in and closed the smaller ones, which is ordinary.”

Starbucks Coffee Company shut down all its retail stores for three hours Tuesday for employee training after announcing it would cut 600 jobs last week.

Margolis also said that these bouts of closing and re-opening are called turnovers, and they make the economy work.

“Certainly the individuals who are employed by [these stores] are going to be hurt,” Margolis said. “People who patronize these stores will also be hurt, but [I think] other stores will inhabit these spots, and the shoppers will cope with it.”

Monty Pridgeon, a freshman in chemical engineering, also said this could be a result of more broad struggles in the country.

“Anytime you shut down a lot of places, people are going to get laid off,” Pridgeon said. “I think it’s going to take more time for people to get jobs than we expect. Our unemployment rate is quite high and jobs are becoming more scarce by the minute.”

But while some are experiencing employment problems, Margolis said because these are retail chains, there will be few after-effects.

“It sounds like a lot of change, but it shouldn’t be that shocking,” he said.

Erin Kusmez, senior in business management, said the government can be blamed for any economic problems occuring now.

“The Bush administration isn’t really doing anything to help,” Kusmec said. “This may change with the introduction of a new president, but that all depends on who gets it and what his or her viewpoints are.”

Margolis emphasized that these sort of setbacks are typical.

“All of these things — like turnovers and competition — are ordinary,” Margolis said. “In an economy like this, you have to make profits to survive. Survival of the fittest is an analogy used to describe it best.”