Starbucks

For other meanings of the name "Starbuck", see Starbuck.

Starbucks Corp.

Starbucks logo
Company type	Public (Nasdaq: SBUX,SEHK: 4337)
ISIN	US8552441094
Industry	Restaurants
Founded	In 1971 across from Pike Place Market in Seattle, Washington
Founder	Gordon Bowker Jerry Baldwin Zev Siegl
Headquarters	Seattle, Washington, USA
Key people	Howard Schultz, Chairman Jim Donald, President & CEO
Products	Starbucks Seattle's Best Coffee Frappuccino Tazo Tea Torrefazione Italia Coffee Starbucks Hear Music Pasqua Coffee
Revenue	$6.369 billion USD (2005)
Operating income	4,617,800,000 United States dollar (2022)
Net income	3,281,600,000 United States dollar (2022)
Total assets	31,392,600,000 United States dollar (2021)
Number of employees	140,000
Website	Starbucks.com

Starbucks is the world's largest chain of coffee shops. Founded in 1971 as a coffee bean retailer, then acquired in 1987 by Howard Schultz, Starbucks has acquired and built coffeehouses all over the world. In addition to drip brewed coffee and espresso beverages, Starbucks shops also serve tea and bottled beverages, pastries, and ready-to-eat sandwiches.

Stores

Starbucks stores serve a variety of brewed coffees, which change on a weekly basis in order to provide customers with an easy way to sample a variety of coffees and blends. Also served are an array of other hot drinks, both espresso-based (like lattes and cappuccinos) and non-espresso based (like hot chocolate, hot white chocolate, steamed cider, and "cremes", Starbucks' term for steamed milk with various flavored syrups added). During winter months the hot drinks are the main staple for Starbucks. However, during the warmer months most of its revenue does not come from coffee, but from Frappuccino blended coffees and blended cremes. These drinks are made from a base plus syrup and ice. Stores in Seattle, Chicago, Maryland, and other areas are experimenting with hot breakfast options such as ham, egg, and cheese on a muffin and eggs Florentine sandwiches. Starting at the end of January, many stores in New England will also carry what's called "warming." With ovens in stores, Starbucks will also be able to heat existing pastries and lunch sandwiches.

Starbucks' whole-bean coffee is roasted in one of four roasting plants, located in Kent, Washington; York, Pennsylvania; Carson Valley, Nevada; and Amsterdam, Netherlands. These whole beans are packaged shortly after roasting and are shipped in air-tight bags which incorporate a pressure valve allowing the beans to continue to emit gases after packaging. Whole beans, and some varieties of packaged pre-ground beans, are available for purchase at all Starbucks store locations and in many grocery stores.

Starbucks stores do not franchise. All Starbucks stores in North America, Latin America, and most of the rest of the world are owned and directly operated by Starbucks Corporation. Two noted examples, however, are Starbucks store locations in airports, most of which are operated by HMSHost (formerly Host Marriott Services). HMSHost does not accept the Starbucks card, Starbucks coupons, or employee discounts. Starbucks Coffee locations in grocery stores are not Starbucks locations at all. They are owned by the grocery stores themselves, and, like employees at airport locations, receive no training from Starbucks. These locations do not have to comply with the same standards that Starbucks corporate stores do.

Staffing

There are usually two to four baristas (or "partners," as Starbucks employees are called) in each store at any one time with at least one being a Shift Supervisor, Assistant Manager or Store manager, depending on the business volumes. Baristas in black aprons are the shift supervisors. Barista's wearing the black aprons labeled "Coffee Master" are Coffee Masters. These aprons are worn by employees who have completed the Coffee Master course and achieved a high standing during their certification, which educates employees in not only the tasting, but also growing, roasting and purchasing (including fair trade practices) aspects of the coffee industry. It was policy in the past that a employee be a shift supervisor, assistant store manager, or store manager in order to become a Coffee Master. Starbucks has recently changed this stance and now allows all employees the opportunity to become a Coffee Master.

Starbucks on the place de l’Odéon, Paris, France

Starbucks offers full benefits such as health and vision insurance as well as stock-option grants and 401k with matching to employees who put in as few as 20 hours a week. As of 2007, Starbucks was voted as the 16th best company to work for in the United States, up from 29th in 2006. In 2005 it was voted the 11th best.

"Third place"

Starbucks' envisions local outlets as a "third place" (besides home and work) to spend time, and the stores are designed to make this easy and comfortable. The café section of the store is often outfitted with comfortable stuffed chairs and tables with hard-backed chairs. There are ample electrical outlets providing free electricity for patrons using or charging their portable music devices or laptop computers. Most stores in the U.S. and in some other markets also have wireless Internet access (although this access is not free, as it is in some independent coffee shops).

Starbucks in Doha, Qatar.

The company is noted for its non-smoking policy at almost all of its outlets, despite predictions that this would never succeed in markets such as Germany, where there are otherwise few restrictions on smoking. Outlets in Vienna and Mexico City, which have smoking rooms separated by double doors from the coffee shop itself, and a smoking room upstairs in the Largo do Senado, Macau branch are the closest the company has come to making an exception. According to the company, the smoking ban is to ensure that the coffee aroma is not adulterated. The company also asks its employees to refrain from wearing strong perfumes for similar reasons. Starbucks generally does not prohibit smoking in outside seating areas.

History

The first Starbucks was opened in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by three partners—English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker. The three were inspired by Alfred Peet, whom they knew personally, to open their first store in Pike Place Market to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment. The original Starbucks location was at 2000 Western Avenue from 1971 to 1976. That store then moved to 1912 Pike Place. During their first year of operation, they purchased green coffee beans from Peet's, then began buying directly from growers.

Entrepreneur Howard Schultz joined the company in 1982, and, after a trip to Milan, suggested that the company sell coffee and espresso drinks as well as beans. The owners rejected this idea, believing that getting into the beverage business would distract the company from its focus. To them, coffee was something to be prepared in the home. Certain that there was much money to be made selling drinks to on-the-go Americans, Schultz started the Il Giornale coffee bar chain in 1985.

In 1984, the original owners of Starbucks, led by Baldwin, took the opportunity to purchase Peet's. (Baldwin still works there today.) In 1987 they sold the Starbucks chain to Schultz's Il Giornale, which rebranded the Il Giornale outlets as Starbucks and quickly began to expand. Starbucks opened its first locations outside Seattle in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (at Waterfront Station) and Chicago, Illinois, United States that same year. At the time of its initial public offering on the stock market in 1992, Starbucks had grown to 165 outlets.

A Starbucks coffee shop in Leeds, United Kingdom

The first Starbucks location outside of North America opened in Tokyo in 1996. Starbucks entered the U.K. market in 1998 with the acquisition of the then 60-outlet Seattle Coffee Company, re-branding all its stores as Starbucks. By November 2005, London had more outlets than Manhattan, a sign of Starbucks becoming an international brand.

In April 2003, Starbucks completed the purchase of Seattle's Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia from AFC Enterprises, bringing the total number of Starbucks-operated locations worldwide to more than 6,400. On September 14 2006, it was announced by rival Diedrich Coffee that it would sell most of its company-owned retail stores to Starbucks. This sale includes the company owned locations of the Oregon-based Coffee People chain. Starbucks representatives have been quoted as saying they will convert the Diedrich Coffee and Coffee People locations to Starbucks stores.

Today

A Starbucks logo reflected near the WTC site in NY, NY.

Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz has talked about the tension that exists in the company between their rapid expansion (they aim to eventually operate 40,000 retail stores worldwide) and their desire to act like a small company.

According to the company fact sheet, as of November 2006, Starbucks had 7,102 company-operated outlets worldwide: 5,668 of them in the United States and 1,434 in other countries and U.S. territories. In addition, the company has 5,338 joint-venture and licensed outlets, 3,168 of them in the United States and 2,170 in other countries and U.S. territories. This brings the total locations (as of November, 2006) to 12,440 worldwide. In some cities there are Starbucks stores located across the street from each other. Starbucks President Martin Coles has said the company plans to eventually have 20,000 locations overseas, with a substantial portion of those in China. Stores are now found in Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China (including Hong Kong), Cyprus, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom.

File:Forbidden City Starbucks.jpg

The Starbucks at Forbidden City has generated controversy

In 1999, Starbucks opened the first store in mainland China Beijing's China World Trade Center. One of the chain's best-selling drinks in China is the caramel macchiato. It costs about $4 for a grande size. In 2000, it opened a store inside the Forbidden City where the Chinese emperors used to live in Beijing. In the same year, it also opened stores in Shanghai. In 2004, Chinese new regulations made it easier for Starbucks and other retailers to expand without local employees. In 2006, Starbucks opened more stores in China's big cities after buying a large local partner. In early 2007, there have been reports indicating Starbucks may be forced to withdraw from the Forbidden City.

Name

The company was in part named after Starbuck, the first mate character in the book Moby-Dick, as well as a turn-of-the-century mining camp on Mount Rainier, Starbo or Storbo. According to Howard Schultz's book Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time, the name of the company was derived from Moby-Dick, although not in as direct a fashion as many assume. Gordon Bowker liked the name "Pequod" (the ship in the novel), but his creative partner Terry Heckler heckled: "No one's going to drink a cup of Pee-quod!" Heckler suggested "Starbo." Brainstorming with these two ideas resulted in the company being named for the Pequod's first mate, Starbuck.

International names include:

• Arabic-speaking countries: ستاربكس
• China, Taiwan, Hong Kong: 星巴克 Pinyin: xīng bā kè

"星 xīng" means star, while "巴bā 克kè" is a transliteration of "-bucks"

• South Korea: 스타벅스 transliteration (ss ta buk ss), often used in conjunction with the English name
• Japan: スターバックス transliteration (su taa ba -- ku su)
• Thailand: สตาร์บัคส์ transliteration (sa taa bak)

Logo

The original Starbucks logo

The company logo is a mixoparthenos, or "twin-tailed mermaid, or siren as she's known in Greek mythology". The logo has been streamlined over the years. In the first version, the Starbucks siren had bare breasts and a fully-visible double fish tail. In the second version, her breasts were covered by hair, but her navel was still visible, and the fish tail was cropped slightly. In the current version, her navel and breasts are not visible at all, and only vestiges remain of the fish tails. The original logo can still be seen on the Starbucks store in Seattle's Pike Place Market and on Starbucks Anniversary Blend 1 lb coffee bags.

At the beginning of September 2006, Starbucks temporarily reintroduced their original brown logo on paper hot beverage cups. Starbucks has stated that this was done to show the company's heritage from the Pacific Northwest and to celebrate 35 years of business, however the vintage logo has sparked some controversy due to the siren's bare chest. Recently, an elementary school principal in Kent, Washington, was reported as asking teachers to "cover up" the mermaid of the retro cups with a cup sleeve of some kind.

In 2000 San Francisco cartoonist Kieron Dwyer was sued by Starbucks for copyright and trademark infringement after creating a parody of its siren logo and putting it on coffee mugs, t-shirts and stickers that he sold on his website and at comic book conventions. Dwyer felt that since his work was a parody it was protected by his right to free speech under U.S. law. The judge agreed that Dwyer's work was a parody and thus enjoyed constitutional protection, however he was forbidden from financially profiting from using a "confusingly similar" image of the Starbucks siren logo. Dwyer is currently allowed to display the image as an expression of free speech, but he can no longer sell it. [4]

In 2003, Starbucks successfully sued a Shanghai competitor in China for trademark infringement, because that chain stores used a green-and-white logo with a similar sounding Chinese name.

Starbucks in Seoul, South Korea

Beverages

Most coffee drinks can be customized in some way (e.g. using skim milk instead of whole milk for a "nonfat" option, or mixing regular and decaffeinated coffee to make a "half-caf"). Flavored syrups and whipped cream can be added; cappuccinos can be made with more foam ("dry") or less foam ("wet"). Other options include "extra hot" and "soy."

Cup sizes

Customers can choose from one of four cup sizes for hot drinks, or one of three cup sizes for cold drinks (including Frappuccinos):

Starbucks cup sizes

Size name	Volume
Short	8 fl oz. (236 ml)
Tall	12 fl oz. (354 ml)
Iced Tall	12 fl oz. (354 ml)
Grande	16 fl oz. (473 ml)
Iced Grande	16 fl oz. (473 ml)
Venti	20 fl oz. (591 ml)
Iced Venti	24 fl oz. (710 ml)

In Quebec, Canada, the Short size is referred to as piccolo, while the Tall size is referred to as mezzo, continuing the Italian naming trend. Typically, Short is not displayed as a size on the menu, lending many customers to believe that, in fact, a "Tall" is a "small." However, because many other coffee shops offer an 8 oz. cup size, calling a Short cup "small" is preferable. In China, only "short", "tall", and "grande" sizes are available. There is no "venti" size. In Japan, "venti" size availability for hot drinks is limited to few stores. Also, there is no such thing as an Iced Short cup.

Language

The lingo used at Starbucks is designed for efficient communication between employees and with customers while ordering drinks or "marking the cups." There is a prescribed order in which to say each modifier, ending with the name of the drink itself. Ordering a drink may begin with whether or not the drink is iced, whether it is decaffeinated, the number of shots of espresso (if different from the standard recipe for that drink), the size of the cup, any flavoring added, the kind of milk requested, (eg. non-fat milk, organic milk, breve, heavy cream, or soy milk), any additional customizations (e.g. no foam, extra hot) and finally the name of the beverage.

For example, the order of an iced latte, grande, with vanilla syrup, decaf, with whipped cream, skimmed milk, and an extra shot, would be called as an "Iced Decaf Triple Grande Vanilla Non-fat (or Skim) with whip latte." In other words, you simply say iced if it is a cold beverage, or nothing if it is hot, which is default, and then read down the list of modifiers listed on the side of the cup.

If not otherwise specified, drinks are made hot, with caffeinated espresso and whole milk. The basis for all "bar" or espresso based drinks is the latte, which consists of espresso, steamed milk, and a dollop of foamed milk. From there exist variations such as the cappuccino (with espresso, and a heavy cap of foam), and the caramel macchiato (with vanilla syrup, steamed milk, a 1/2 inch layer of foamed milk which is added so that it can "hold" the shots of espresso poured over top, and the caramel sauce in a cross-hatch pattern).

Frappuccino

File:Starbucks cup.JPG

A Starbucks cup

Starbucks is known for its signature Frappuccino, a flavored drink of coffee, milk and sugar blended with ice. The name is a portmanteau of “frappé” and “cappuccino,” and was introduced in 1995. Frappuccinos were actually invented by a barista experimenting with iced beverages. There are two main types, blended creams and blended coffees. Both bases contain milk but the coffee frappuccino base comes in two variations; decaf, and light, a coffee base sweetened with Splenda containing fewer calories. The popularity of the Frappuccino is often credited to the many available variations including:

• Coffee Base: Mocha, Caramel, White Mocha, Java Chip, Cafe Vanilla, Banana Coconut(seasonal), or any of the other syrups.

• Creme Base (CBB): Vanilla Bean,Marble Chocolate, Double Chocolate Chip, Strawberry, White Mocha, Green Tea (usually blended with raspberry, blackberry, or melon syrup), Coconut Creme(seasonal), or any of the other syrups.

• Non-Dairy: Tangerine/Passion Tea, Pomegranate/Green Tea, Blended Strawberry Lemonade.

Seasonal frappuccino variants are also available at certain times of year.

Flavors

Starbucks has many flavor syrups that can be added to drinks. These include Almond, Caramel, Cinnamon, Coconut, Melon, Mocha, Peppermint, Raspbery, Sugar-Free Hazelenut, Sugar-Free Vanilla, Toffee Nut, Vanilla, and White Mocha in the United States. Most of these are availible year-round. Some, however, can only be found on a seasonal basis. A short list can be found below:

• Fall - Maple, Pumpkin Spice
• Early Winter/Holiday - Eggnog, Gingerbread
• Late Winter/Valentine's Day - Cinnamon Dolce, Sugar-Free Cinnamon Dolce
• Summer - Blackberry

Criticism and controversy

Starbucks is available at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. July 2003.

Starbucks at Queens Plaza, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Labor disputes

Since 2004, several Starbucks store employees in New York City joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) as the Starbucks Workers Union[5]. According to a Starbucks Union press release, since then, the union membership has begun expanding to Chicago and Maryland. On March 7, 2006, the IWW and Starbucks agreed to a National Labor Relations Board settlement in which three Starbucks workers were granted almost $2,000 in back wages, two fired employees were offered reinstatement. According to the Starbucks Union, on November 24 2006, IWW members picketed Starbucks locations in more than 50 cities around the world in countries including Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, New Zealand, as well as US cities including New York, Chicago, Minneapolis and San Francisco, to protest the firing of five Starbucks Workers Union organizers by Starbucks and to demand their reinstatement.

Some Starbucks baristas in Canada , Australia and New Zealand, and the United States belong to a variety of unions.

In 2005, Starbucks paid out $165,000 to eight employees at its Kent, WA roasting plant to settle charges that they had been retaliated against for being pro-union. At the time, the plant workers were represented by the IUOE. Starbucks admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement.

A Starbucks strike happened in Auckland, New Zealand on November 23, 2005. Organised by Unite Union, workers sought secure hours, a minimum wage of NZ$12 an hour, and the abolition of youth rates. The company settled with the Union in 2006, resulting in pay increases, increased security of hours, and an improvement in youth rates.

According to Starbucks Chairman Howard Schulz, "If they had faith in me and my motives, they wouldn't need a union." According to the Seattle Times, "The International Union of Operating Engineers Local 286 had trouble with Starbucks at its Kent roasting plant, where the union no longer represents workers". In August 2006, a store in Vancouver de-unionized as the employees unanimously voted on the subject.

Retail market

Starbucks has come to be regarded by some, particularly in the anti-globalization movement, as symbolic of the problems posed by globalization. Several activist groups maintain websites criticizing the company's fair-trade policies, labor relations, and environmental impact, and hold it as a prime example of what they see as U.S. cultural and economic imperialism. Several Starbucks locations were vandalized during the WTO meeting held in Seattle in late 1999. Although no organization claimed responsibility for the vandalism, the anarchist circle-A symbol was spraypainted on several stores. (see also WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999 protest activity).

Coffee bean market

Although it has endured much criticism for its purported monopoly on the global coffee-bean market, Starbucks only accounts for roughly two percent of global coffee production[6]. In 2000, the company introduced a line of fair trade products and now offers three options for the socially conscious coffee drinker. According to Starbucks, they purchased 4.8 million pounds of Certified Fair Trade coffee in fiscal year 2004 and 11.5 million pounds in 2005. They have become the largest buyer of Certified Fair Trade coffee in North America (10% of the global market) and the only company licensed to sell Certified Fair Trade coffee in 23 countries. Transfair USA, the only third-party certifier of Fair Trade Certified coffee in the United States, has noted the impact Starbucks has made in the area of Fair Trade and coffee farmer's lives by saying:

Since launching FTC coffee in 2000, Starbucks has undeniably made a significant contribution to family farmers through their rapidly growing FTC volumes. By offering FTC coffee in thousands of stores, Starbucks has also given the FTC label greater visibility, helping to raise consumer awareness in the process.

FTC coffee now represents 3.7% of all Starbucks coffee, up from less than 1% when the company began to offer FTC. Starbucks unlike many companies with whom we partner, makes FTC volume information public.

Groups such as Global Exchange are calling for Starbucks to further increase its sales of fair trade coffees. However, fair trade certification can cost $20,000 to $30,000, and many growers are unwilling or unable to pay for certification. As a result, the supply of fair trade coffee is increasing slowly, and Starbucks claims difficulty in finding fair trade growers that can meet its quality standards.

Starbucks corporation

Starbucks Headquarters. Seattle

Starbucks' corporate headquarters are in Seattle, Washington, United States. Currently the members of the company's board of directors are Jim Donald, Barbara Bass, Collin Mullahy, Bill Bradley, Mellody Hobson, Olden Lee, Greg Maffei, Howard Schultz, James Shennan, Javier Teruel, Robert Marsee, Myron Ullman, and Craig Weatherup.

Starbucks U.S. Brands, LLC, is a Starbucks owned company that currently holds and owns the property rights to approximately 120 Starbucks Coffee Company patents and trademarks. It is located at 2525 Starbucks Way in Minden, Nevada. Like most companies, Starbucks defends its trademarks.

Starbucks does not generally offer promotional prices on its beverages (although retail merchandise is frequently marked-down). It has a reputation for having pricey drinks, though as of early 2006, Dunkin' Donuts charged even more for a large cup of coffee ($1.95 vs. $1.80 at Starbucks). In fact the price charged for one tall drip coffee, covers more than the entire cost of brewing the pot. In late 2006, Starbucks announced that it would raise prices by $0.05 USD, at the beginning of the new fiscal year, October 2, 2006.

Starbucks recently entered the music and film business. Starbucks Entertainment is one of the producers of the 2006 film Akeelah and the Bee. Retail stores heavily advertised the film before its release.

Hear Music

Starbucks' second Hear Music store at the South Bank development adjacent to the River Walk in downtown San Antonio, Texas

Main article: Hear Music

Hear Music is the brand name of Starbucks' retail music concept. Hear Music began as a catalog company in 1990 and was purchased by Starbucks in 1999. The Hear Music brand currently has five components:

1. the music that each location plays and the accompanying XM radio channel (XM 75)
2. in-store CD sales, including Starbucks exclusives
3. specially branded retail stores
4. sales through the iTunes Store
5. a record label co-owned by Starbucks and Concord Music Group[7]

The first Starbucks Hear Music Coffeehouse is in Santa Monica, California, on the Third Street Promenade. Three more locations are at the River Walk in San Antonio (opened December 2005), South Beach in Miami, Florida (opened February 2006), and Bellevue Square in Bellevue, Washington (opened November 2006). There is also a Hear Music Store in Berkeley, California. Ten Starbucks locations in Seattle and Austin, Texas, also have Hear Music "media bars," kiosks that let customers create their own mix CDs. The music section in Chapters, a Canadian bookstore chain, was at one time a licensed version of the Hear Music concept, but Chapters no longer uses the brand name.

In March 2007 it was reported that Starbucks Corp. launched a record label based on the existing Hear Music brand. It will partner with Concord Music Group. They will sign their own artists and sell records through Starbucks stores and other retailers.

See also

• Coffeehouse
• List of coffeehouse chains

willy willy!

External links

• Official website
• Starbucks IWW Union
• TIME Magazine article on the expansion of Starbucks
• Starbucks Corporate Strategy Analysis