Starbucks started out as a coffee bean and tea retailer. By the early 1980s, Starbucks had four stores in the Seattle area and Zev Siegel left the partnership after suffering burnout. Jerry Baldwin took over day-to-day management and Gordon Bowker stayed as an owner with other outside interests. All that changed in 1981 when Howard Schultz entered the picture. Schultz visited Starbucks out of curiosity due to the fact that they were selling so many of his company's products.
Starbucks Coffee Company was founded in the year 1971 by three people. They opened their first store in Seattle's Pike Place Market. The name 'Starbucks' actually originated from Herman Melvin's classical novel called Moby Dick. The seafaring name seems appropriate for a store that imports the world's finest coffees to the cold, thirsty people of Seattle. Then came Howard Schultz.
In 1982 the president and CEO Howard Schultz, joined the company. He had just returned from a trip to Italy in 1983, and invasion a new way to serve coffee in the United States. He wanted to bring the way of Italian coffeehouse here. Nevertheless, this was not until 1987 where he would come in with several local investors to purchase Starbucks and rebrand. Opening their doors here in Chicago.
Analysis of the Starbucks Corporation History Of Starbucks Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Ziv Siegl founded Starbucks in 1971. Their goal was to sell the finest quality whole beans and ground coffees (Starbucks timeline and history, 2004). In 1982, Starbucks had grown to five stores and started serving coffee to restaurants and espresso bars. Harold Schultz was employed as the director of retail operations and marketing. Harold Schultz convinced the founders of Starbucks to open a downtown Seattle coffee bar, which opened in 1984.
“All my friends who tried my coffee were all suggesting that I should stared my own business on selling coffee and home-roast beans,” Carole said. The actual coffee business officially stared in 2001. At the beginning, the business was focusing on selling coffee beans. Later on, in 2003, Carole opened her first café “Old Rock” and soon her coffee got Fairtrade certified. Fairtrade certified coffee is a standard qualification for coffee product, which is have to meet the agreed environmental, labor, and developmental standards.
Starbucks traces its origins to a single store opened in 1971 in Pike Place Market, Seattle, WA. In 1982, Howard Shultz joined the Starbucks team. He traveled to Italy in 1983 and experienced the environment of its coffee bars. His love and appreciation of the Italian coffee bar setting motivated him to reproduce it in the United States. In 1987, Shultz gathered a group of investors and purchased the company.
Case Summary In 1971, three academics, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Sigler, and Gordon Bowker, opened Starbucks Coffee, Team, and Spice in Seattle, Washington. They were inspired by the success of Peet’s Coffee and Tea in Berkeley, California. However, they focused on selling high-quality whole beans and coffee products, making the store was consistently profitable. By 1980, Starbucks had four locations in the Seattle area. In 1981, Howard Schultz, vice president and general manager of U.S. operations for a Swedish maker of coffee and kitchen equipment, visited Starbucks and was immediately enamored by the business philosophy and opportunity.
Founded in 1971 in Seattle, the company is one of the leading companies specialized in quality coffee. This national coffee phenomenon began as a coffee shop with the cooperation of Jerry Baldwin, Zec Siegl, Gordon Bowker and Alfred Peet. These entrepreneurs only sold whole roasted beans but later opened up more choices for consumers to choose from. With Howard Schultz’s addition to the team, Starbucks was able to reach dramatic success. He went from being director of retail operations and marketing to being the executive chairman.
· Low long-term debt to equity ratio of 0.01, company has good financial standing. · 1993, Opens second roasting plant in Kent, Washington in order to maintain on-time production and delivery, then in 1995 opened state of the art roasting facility in York, Pennsylvania. · Howard Schultz joins corporation in 1982, is a visionary leader who made Starbucks the famous coffee bar that it is today. In 2000, Schultz assumed role of chairman and chief global strategist. WEAKNESSES: · Low presence in third largest coffee market, Japan and Asia.
After tasting Starbucks coffee, Schultz admitted that he had “never had a good cup of coffee” before he had tasted Starbucks. Only a year later, in 1982, Schultz was hired as the director of retail operations for Starbucks. Starbucks at the time did not typically sell coffee drinks. Beans and coffee makers were their forte. In 1983, Schultz traveled to Milan, Italy, where he was struck by the numerous coffee bars.