Starbucks | Success story of the Most Prominent Coffeehouse

Starbucks is an American chain of coffeehouses spread throughout the world. It is the largest coffeehouse chain in the world. Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker founded Starbucks in 1971. In the early 1980s, they sold the company to Howard Schultz, who decided to convert the coffee bean store into a coffee shop. If we look at the Forbes Fortune 500 list, Starbucks comes at 114th position. In 2021, the company made a net income of US$4.20 billion. Today, the company has over 32,000 stores all around the world. Here’s Starbucks’ success story.

The early days

In 1971, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker founded Starbucks in Seattle. The three friends first met at the University of San Francisco. They wanted to sell good quality coffee beans. From 1971 to 1976, the location of the Starbucks store remained in Seattle. Before Howard Schultz took over the company, it only sold coffee beans and not coffee beverages. In 1987, the founders sold the company to Howard Schultz, who rebranded his coffee company, Il Giornale. Starbucks quickly began to grow, opening its first stores outside of Seattle. By 1989, the brand opened 46 stores across the USA. In 1996, it opened its first store in Japan. By 1998, it had 28 stores in Japan.

In the late 1990s, the company had 140 outlets. They also acquired The Coffee Connection, which allowed them to sell the Frappuccino drink exclusively. Later, it received several coffee companies and began testing a fresh-pressed coffee system. The company faced its share of setbacks and hurdles. During the 2008 recession, Starbucks closed 600 stores, and its growth in the United States decreased. In the same year, the company had to cut almost 1000 jobs. In addition, it also closed several stores in Australia. By 2009, the company had completed nearly 977 stores worldwide. But, the company pushed through all the hurdles and rose to the top. Starbucks’ rapid growth and popularity result from hard work and passion. 

Present Day Starbucks

Today, Starbucks is the leading coffeehouse chain and one of the top companies in the world. In addition to selling drinks and food, the company has its merchandise and more. Grocery shops across the United States and other countries also sell Bottled coffee, cold coffee, and ice cream. In November 2019, it opened the most prominent coffee lovers spot in Chicago with over 200 employees. Due to COVID-19, the company had to close several of its stores, but they eventually announced opening new stores. In 2021, the company made a net income of US$4.20 billion. Although the company has a significant challenge of competing with other coffee shops at such high prices, what benefits Starbucks is its aesthetic and peaceful environment, which is suitable for office meetings and even for studies.

Currently, Kevin Johnson is CEO of the Starbucks. Starbucks store in India is owned by a joint venture of TATA Starbucks Private Limited. It is branded as Starbucks Coffee – “A Tata Alliance.” And also, Starbucks signed an agreement with Nestle in 2018, which says Nestlé has the right to market Starbucks’ packaged coffee and food service products globally.

As of 2020, the brand has 32,660 locations in 79 countries. From the very beginning, the founders of the company focused on providing the best coffee beans and beverages to its customers. After Howard Schultz became the company’s CEO, he grew the company exponentially. In addition, Schultz helped the company survive the 2008 financial crisis. He understood the company’s potential right from the start. In 2000, he stepped down as the CEO. The company is ranked 114 on the Forbes Fortune 500 list and 288 on the Forbes Global 2000 list.

Recent Update:

In 2022, Starbucks collaborated with South Korean multinational conglomerate Samsung. Together, the two multi-billion dollar companies have launched mobile cases. Moreover, they have launched quirky cases for Galaxy Buds. The brands have teamed up to make adorable and chic cases for Galaxy devices. All the accessories of the collaboration are manufactured with eco-friendly materials. However, it is a limited edition. It has been produced exclusively for the South Korean market. As a result, it won’t be sold outside the country officially.

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