Starbucks is an international coffee company that is home to the world's best coffee. The company, which is based in Seattle, Washington, is the largest coffeehouse in the world. With more than 19,000 stores in 58 countries, it is almost impossible to assume the positive effects this company has brought to the coffee industry. Starbucks' history timeline started in Seattle in 1971. This company's history recounts the coffee business's tremendous growth and phenomenal success in the coffee sector.
The founders
The original founders of Starbucks, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegel, and Gordon Bowker, started a Starbucks store in 1971. It began as a small shop in Seattle, Washington, from which the three great friends came up with the idea of trading freshly roasted coffee beans with the locals. To them, it was a simple business, but little did they know that they were to make the Starbucks history timeline. This concept was inspired to them by A. Peet, who supplied them with the green coffee beans they needed for their new store. The idea was successful, and they collected enough cash and loans to become later their start-up capital to expand their business.
Howard Schultz
In 1980, nine years after Starbucks was started, the store had emerged as the biggest roaster of coffee in Seattle, with about six stores. In the same period, Zev Siegel, who was also an English teacher, sold out. One year later, Hammerplast's sales representative, Howard Schultz, could not help noticing the numerous plastic brewing thermoses that Starbuck was buying. He became very interested in what Starbuck was doing, and this saw Baldwin hiring Schultz to become marketing boss.
The Big Idea
After that, Howard Schultz went to Italy for an international houseware show in Milan, where he was highly excited by the coffee habit he found there. Later, Howard encountered a turning point when he observed something more interesting than coffee. He was delighted with the way the cafe patrons were chatting and taking espresso on the cup for hours as they enjoyed their coffee in the elegant coffee house environment.
This moment was like an epiphany for Howard. A lot of business ideas were crossing his mind by this time. Then, a brilliant idea of creating a community gathering place and a coffee culture like the one Howard experienced in Italy came up. He introduced the concept to his employer Baldwin. Unfortunately, Baldwin was not very interested in the idea and claimed it would distract him from his usual business of selling coffee beans.
The Sell Out
Howard did not give up, though. In 1987, he raised capital of 3.7 million US dollars with the help of local investors and bought Starbucks, which Bowker and Baldwin then owned. The investors were interested in Howard's vision, and this made them open 100 outlets in the following five years.
The Era of Growth
The company expands quickly to other areas, including Chicago, Portland, and Vancouver. In 1991, it had expanded into the state of California and had even advanced to licensed airport stores.
The company became public in 1992 and soon afterward continued with the tremendous growth pace it had gained. By 2004, the number of Starbucks stores had risen to 1.344 (worldwide). This growth was attributed to the numerous advertisements by word of mouth the company was giving.
Today, the company is an international corporation in 58 countries serving over 20 million customers per week worldwide.