public function getStoreByStoreCode($storeCode)
    {

        // query whether or not the store with the passed store code exists
        if (isset($this->stores[$storeCode])) {
            return $this->stores[$storeCode];
        }

        // throw an exception, if not
        throw new \Exception(
            $this->appendExceptionSuffix(
                sprintf('Found invalid store code %s', $storeCode)
            )
        );
    }