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Starbucks

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Starbucks Corporation is a massive American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves.

Starbucks Map
Starbucks Map

It is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and holds the title of the world's largest coffeehouse chain. The company is a major player in global business, ranking 120th on the Fortune 500 list and 303rd on the Forbes Global 2000 as of 2022.

Starbucks stores graph
Starbucks stores graph

Starbucks is often credited with the rise of the second wave of coffee culture. This means they helped introduce a much wider variety of coffee experiences to the public. Today, the company manages a vast network of thousands of locations across many different countries.

To understand how Starbucks operates, we can look at its massive scale and variety. The company sells a wide range of products, including hot and cold drinks, espresso, and caffe lattes.

Lody marki Starbucks
Lody marki Starbucks

They also offer whole-bean coffee, micro-ground instant coffee, full and loose-leaf teas, juices, and Frappuccino beverages. Customers can also purchase pastries and snacks at most locations. Some menu items are seasonal or specific to a certain locality. Many stores also provide free Wi-Fi Internet access to their customers. This variety helps them reach many different types of people in different parts of the world.

Starbucks manages its locations through two main methods: company-operated stores and licensed stores. As of recent data, the company had 35,711 stores located in 80 different countries. Of the stores in the United States, 15,873 are part of the total count. Within those U.S. stores, over 8,900 are directly operated by the company itself. The remaining U.S. stores are licensed, meaning other businesses run them using the Starbucks name. This system allows the company to grow very quickly into new markets and different types of neighborhoods.

The history of Starbucks began on March 30, 1971, in Seattle, Washington.

Pike Place Market - Starbucks circa 1977A
Pike Place Market - Starbucks circa 1977A

It was founded by three business partners: Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker. They had met previously as students at the University of San Francisco. They were inspired to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment by an entrepreneur named Alfred Peet. In those early years, Starbucks acted as a coffee bean wholesaler rather than a cafe. They did not even sell prepared drinks during their first decade of operation. The original shop was located at 2000 Western Avenue before moving to 1912 Pike Place.

A major turning point occurred when Howard Schultz joined the company.

Howard Schultz (33059510518)
Howard Schultz (33059510518)

Schultz served as the chief executive officer from 1986 to 2000, and again from 2008 to 2017. Under his leadership, the company converted into a coffee shop serving espresso-based drinks. He led an aggressive expansion of the franchise across the West Coast of the United States. In 1987, Schultz bought the chain and began expanding beyond Seattle. That same year, the company opened its first locations outside of the city in Vancouver, Canada, and Chicago, Illinois. By 1992, the company had grown to 140 outlets with a revenue of US$73.5 million.

Starbucks has also embraced modern technology to change how it connects with customers. In 1994, the company acquired The Coffee Connection, which gave them the rights to the "Frappuccino" beverage. This drink was officially introduced under the Starbucks name in 1995. In more recent years, the company has moved toward digital sales. By July 2013, more than 10% of in-store purchases were made using mobile devices. They even launched a "Tweet-a-Coffee" promotion in 2013 using Twitter. Furthermore, Starbucks is testing blockchain technology to track the "bean to cup" journey.

Coffee beans being sorted and pulped
Coffee beans being sorted and pulped

This digital system helps connect coffee drinkers directly to the farmers in places like Costa Rica, Colombia, and Rwanda.

While the company has seen huge success, it has also faced significant challenges and changes. During the Great Recession in 2008, Starbucks had to close 600 underperforming stores and cut many jobs. The company also struggled to understand the cafe culture in Australia, leading to the sale of its remaining stores there in 2014. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of all café-only stores in the United States for two weeks. During this time, the company relied on drive-thru and delivery-only services. Despite these difficulties, the brand has maintained substantial market share and strong brand loyalty from customers around the world.

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🖼️ Images & Media (22)
File:Starbucks_signage_Fulham_Broadway_tube_station_(2).jpg
Starbucks_signage_Fulham_Broadway_tube_sta...
File:Pike Place Market - Starbucks circa 1977A.jpg
Pike Place Market - Starbucks circa 1977A.jpg
File:Howard Schultz (33059510518).jpg
Howard Schultz (33059510518).jpg
File:Starbucks Workers Rally and March 01.jpg
Starbucks Workers Rally and March 01.jpg
File:Starbucks stores graph.png
Starbucks stores graph.png
File:Lody marki Starbucks.jpg
Lody marki Starbucks.jpg
File:Starbucks Map.svg
Starbucks Map.svg
File:A_Starbucks_coffeehouse_in_Franklin,_North_Carolina.jpg
A_Starbucks_coffeehouse_in_Franklin,_North...
File:Starbucks-germany.jpg
Starbucks-germany.jpg
File:Starbucks Cafe in Warsaw, Poland.jpg
Starbucks Cafe in Warsaw, Poland.jpg
File:Starbucks in Finland.jpg
Starbucks in Finland.jpg
File:Seremban 2 Starbucks 1.jpg
Seremban 2 Starbucks 1.jpg

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