Abstract
Starbucks started out in a “single store in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market” (Starbucks, 2017, p. 2). Starbucks only offered fresh roasted whole bean coffees and dark roasted in small bags. In 1981, Howard Schultz stepped into his first Starbucks and had his first drink (Starbucks, 2017). Howard ended up becoming the chairman and CEO for Starbucks.
Inspired by the book and the movie about Moby Dick, Starbucks first opened as a storefront in Pike Place Market in 1971. It wasn’t until 1984 when Howard Schultz joined the operation as a chairman, president, and chief executive officer, and introduced to Starbucks the new Italian breed of coffee bean and Italian style of coffee drinking; a style that refreshed the idea of socializing and interacting among people of all walks in times that corporate life style was winning over the family and friendly style of living. Such goal was established by officially making it company’s mission statement; “to inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time” (Starbucks, n.d). After 43 years of business, Starbucks currently operates in 18,000 locations in sixty-two countries (Starbucks, n.d). The annual report released by the company for the year 2013 indicates a total sales/revenue of 14.89 billion dollars, which was 1.5 billion dollars made in 2012 (MarketWatch, 2014).
Starbucks, a coffee bean sales company did not have much of a marketing plan in place at its inception. Based in Seattle Washington the company began to sell coffee beans to espresso bars and upscale restaurants back in 1982. It took 11 years to progress to that level of production, they originally were a local store vendor at Pike Place Market. The director of marketing brought back the espresso bar idea from his travels in Milan. (Company Profile, 2015) The Pacific Northwest was filled with working class men and women that were drawn to the coffeehouse tradition brought in from Italy.
In “ The Starbucks Experience” author discusses essential business strategies that allowed Starbucks from its establishment in Seattle in 1971 as a single-location coffee shop to go worldwide. Nowadays, Starbucks has more than 11,500 non-franchised locations worldwide with annual sales more than $600 million and has been recognized as one of the best Fortune 500 companies to work for. The Starbucks former CEO and the current chairman, Howard Schultz, implemented the five core Starbucks principles for turning “ordinary into extraordinary”. By following these principles, Starbucks became extremely successful and since 1992 the Starbucks stock has grown a staggering 5,000 percent. The author discusses the five core principles that lead to Starbucks’ success such as: make it your own, everything matters, surprise and delight,
Starbucks is currently the industry leader in specialty coffee. They purchased more high quality coffee beans than anyone else in the world and keep in good standings with the producers to ensure they get the best beans. Getting the best beans is only the first part, Starbucks also has a “closed loop system” that protects the beans from oxygen immediately after roasting to the time of packaging. They did this through their invention of a one-way valve which let the natural gasses escape but keeping oxygen out. This gave them the unique ability to ensure freshness and extended the shelf life to 26 weeks. Starbucks isn’t only about the coffee, it’s also about a place where people can escape to enjoy music, reflect, read, or just chat. It is a total coffee experience. The retail outlet has been responsible for much of Starbucks growth and has contributed substantially to their brand equity.
1. Starbucks Corporation's rise seems to be out of a storybook for Howard Schultz. Starbucks began selling whole bean coffee in 1971 under Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker. Business grew at a slow and steady pace until Schulz joined the company as manager of retail sales and marketing. After a visit to Milan, Italy, Schultz was inspired by a vision. He saw how important coffee was to the romantic culture of Italy. He believed that if Americans had such places to socialize over a cup of coffee, espresso, cappuccino, etc., that they would pay good money for his quality product. The owners of the Starbucks Corporation were not as excited and did not want to operate in the restaurant business. Schultz filmed these coffee bars and began to pitch his ideas to investors. By April of 1985, his first coffee bar had opened and by 1987 he had bought the Starbucks name. Although the first few years of the company were less than profitable, Schultz looked at the long-term opportunities and never let his idea die. Within a few years sales shot up 84%. This left room for expansion. By 1995 there were almost 200 stores opened across the U.S. and Starbucks was already looking international at this point and began operations to look to Asia. Starbucks now has opened bars all over the world and is one of the most successful businesses in the world.
Founded in 1971 at Seattle’s Pike Place Market, Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices, as it was originally called, has been “brewing-up” its famous blends in over 43 countries, including the United States. Now called Starbucks Coffee Company, business isn’t just about the coffee and tea anymore. Starbucks has its own line of bottled water, handcrafted beverages, fresh food, entertainment, merchandise and a Starbucks Card. The company has received numerous awards for their outstanding business practices. Fortune Magazine has ranked them as one of “The Best 100 Companies to Work For” in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2008 (Starbucks, 2008). The Starbucks Experience provides consumers and the general public a direct line a of business communication. From friendly baristas to press releases from CEO Howard Schultz, Starbucks keeps its “partners” informed.
Schultz has had a lot of success with Starbucks, not only in revenue but he has continued to expand the brands in their portfolio, increase store locations and reach all new highs. Starbucks is now an international company with more than 21,000 stores in over 65 countries (Starbucks Coffee International, n.d.). Starbucks believes their global success has a lot to do with their international partners. Schultz explained it nicely when he said, “We remain highly respectful of the culture and traditions of the countries in which we do business. We recognize that our success is not an entitlement, and we must continue to earn the trust and respect of customers every day” (Starbucks Coffee International, n.d.). Schultz continually sees opportunity and the ability for growth, with an increase in locations across the globe every year and the ability to keep up with the latest in technology (websites, online shopping, a Starbucks application with the ability to pay and reload loyalty cards on your smart phone), etc.
Starbucks Company was established in 1971 with their first store in Western Avenue from that same year to 1976. They started as retailers of ground coffee tea and spices with a single in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. Starbucks is named after the first mate in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick and their logo is inspired by the sea-featuring a twin-tailed siren from Greek mythology. Starbucks had always wanted to inspire the human spirit. They believe in serving the best coffee by growing the coffee under quality standards. Starbucks believes rendering good services to customers is very significant to the success of the company. From just a narrow storefront, Starbucks now has more than 20,000 stores in over 60 countries and they offer some of the world’s finest fresh-roasted whole bean coffees. Their coffee houses have become a beacon for coffee lovers everywhere. Starbucks believe that they can elevate their customers, partners, suppliers and neighbours to create positive change. They call their corporate offices “a support centre” for some reasons. They try to make everything they do there to support their retail store partners and make an impact on the communities they serve. They have a research and development team of over 200 people which are responsible for the science behind their great products. They are the innovators of delicious beverages and brewing equipments. They drive the innovations, conduct the research and test products. They have a public affairs, communications and community team of over 50 people who promotes and protects the company’s reputation all around the world. They also have a partner resources team of over 500 people that help their partners all around the world become their very best...
When I saw this discussion, I couldn’t help but think of Starbucks and the impact they’ve made throughout their 45 years of establishment. I worked with them for about 7 years and saw how unique they were from your everyday coffee and latte spots. A retail company with thousands of coffee shops in the US as well as in other countries, this particular retailer has been able to catch the eyes of all ages as well as locations throughout the world. For example, today college students utilize Starbucks locations to study rather than go to a nearby library. Starbucks is also known for its best coffee and espresso drinks (Latte or Frappuccino) and with one of its delicious espresso 's any student or just a person stopping in to enjoy its lounge area where there is free Wi-Fi is awesome! Starbucks lifecycle has made a 360 turn around and been revamped twice to accommodated the growing market. Customizing their brand to fit more in with everything and not just one thing. By doing this they’ve created multiple product lifecycles within their own lifecycle as a corporate company.