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Starbucks
Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) is a large multinational chain of coffee shops, often serving pastries, with a reputation in the US as a center for socializing, particularly among students and young urban professionals. The corporate headquarters are in Seattle, Washington. The company was named after Starbuck, a character in Moby-Dick, and its mascot is a stylized cartoon siren.
According to the company's fact sheet, as of April 2005, Starbucks had 5,630 company-operated outlets worldwide: 4,593 of them in the 50 United States and Washington, DC and 1,037 in other countries and U.S. territories. In addition, the company has 3,851 joint-venture and licensed outlets, 2,158 of them in the 50 United States and Washington, DC and 1,693 in other countries and U.S. territories.
The first Starbucks was opened in Seattle in 1971 by three partners, teachers Jerry Baldwin (English), and Zev Siegel (History), and writer Gordon Bowker. Wanting to sell high-quality coffee beans and machines, for they loved fine coffees and exotic teas, they opened its still-operating first location across from Pike Place Market. Entrepreneur Howard Schultz joined the company in 1982 and, inspired by the Italian espresso bars, started the Il Giornale coffee bar chain in 1985. A few years after the original owners took the opportunity to purchase Peet's Coffee and Tea, they sold the Starbucks chain to Howard Schultz, whose Il Giornale outlets were rebranded as Starbucks in 1987. Starbucks opened its first locations in Vancouver, British Columbia (at Waterfront Station) and Chicago, Illinois in 1987. Its first location outside of North America was opened in Tokyo, Japan, in 1996, and now Starbucks has outlets in 30 additional countries. There are currently 8,569 locations worldwide.
By the time of its initial public offering on the stock market in 1992, it had grown to 165 outlets. In April 2003 Starbucks added 150 new outlets in one day, by completing the purchase of Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia from AFC Enterprises. As of May 2003, Starbucks operated more than 6,400 locations worldwide. Stung by criticism of the conditions in which its coffee was grown, the company introduced a line of ostensibly fair trade products; although the majority of its sales are not certified fair trade, Starbucks pays its producers some of the highest rates per pound in the world. Starbucks is also known for providing even part-time employees with healthcare benefits and stock options.
Starbucks' success in the US market has not always been replicated around the world, as it has faced stiff competition in locations where existing coffee shops and restaurants already serve a variety of high-quality coffees, and from a number of retailers which emulate Starbucks' business model (often adding a local twist).