Howard Schultz entered the coffee business thirty years ago with only one goal: to strengthen personal relationships between people over a cup of coffee. He is now the CEO of Starbucks. However, the path to the top was not easy. How did Schultz, a guy from a poor working-class family, overcome all difficulties and found the largest chain of coffee shops on Earth?

A little biography

Schultz was born July 19, 1953 in Brooklyn, New York. His family was no different from the rest. In an interview with Bloomberg, he said that he grew up in a neighborhood among poor people. So, as a boy, he plunged into the world of human inequality, experienced poverty at an early age. When Schultz was only 7 years old, his father, a truck driver who delivered diapers, injured his leg during the next flight. At that time, there was no medical insurance and compensation, so the family was left without a basic income.

In high school, Schultz actively played football and received an athletic scholarship from the university, located in Northern Michigan. Then the young man went to college and finally decided for himself that he would not continue to play football. You had to pay for your studies, so the guy had to go to work. He started as a bartender, and sometimes even was a donor.

After graduating in 1975, Schultz worked for a year at a sports facility in Michigan. He was invited to Xerox, where he gained experience in dealing with clients. He did not last long there and a year later he got a job in a Swedish company associated with household utensils.

It was there that Schultz built his career and became first general manager and then vice president. He managed the sales team in the New York office. It was in this company that he first encountered the Starbucks brand: a large number of drip coffee makers attracted his attention. Interested, Howard decided to visit Seattle, arranging a meeting in advance with the owners of the coffee shop: Gerald Baldwin and Gordon Bowker.

Getting to know Starbucks

A year later, the then 29-year-old Baldwin (founder of Starbucks) finally hired Schultz, offering him the position of director of retail operations and marketing. Then Starbucks had only three stores that sold bulk coffee for home use. The first Starbucks store still exists and is located in the Pike Place market in Seattle.

Fateful trip to Milan

Schultz's fortunes changed dramatically when he was sent to Milan for a show. Walking around the city, the young man drew attention to espresso bars, where the owners knew all their customers by name and served them various coffee drinks, be it cappuccino or latte. Schultz realized that it was personal relationships that would help sell coffee.

In 1985, Howard left Starbucks after his Italian idea was rejected by the founders. He soon decided to start his own company, Il Giornale (Italian for "daily"). Schultz needed to raise over $1.6 million to buy the coffee shop. He was away from Strakbars for a year, trying to open his chain of coffee shops in the Italian way.

In August 1987, Schultz was offered the position of CEO of Starbucks, which already had six stores.

Popularity of Starbucks

America quickly took a liking to this company. In 1992, Starbucks went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The company already had 165 open points, the income amounted to $93 million per year. So, by 2000, Starbucks had become a global chain, opened more than 3,500 coffee shops and received $ 2.2 billion in annual revenue. Schultz became one of the most powerful people in America.

Starbucks has not always been at its best, and there have been failures. So, in 2008, Schultz temporarily closed more than a hundred coffee shops in order to teach the bartender how to prepare the perfect espresso.

As part of the reform, Schultz announced that Starbucks was looking to hire former military personnel. Last year, the company confirmed rumors that it would pay for college education for its employees.

During his time at Starbucks, Schultz has always prioritized his employees, whom he refers to as partners. He offers everyone full medical care and insurance, perhaps influenced by the case of his father.

Schultz published an extraordinary book, Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built Cup by Cup.

Starbucks continues to grow, now with more than $16 billion in annual sales, so Schultz is wealthy. His net worth is estimated at $3 billion - a true billionaire.

Starbucks is an American coffee company and operates a chain of coffee shops of the same name. As of early 2017, Starbucks Corporation operated over 24,000 outlets worldwide. At the end of April 2017, the company's capitalization exceeded $86 billion. In the ranking of the most expensive brands in the world 2017 (Global 500 - 2017), Starbucks is valued at $25.6 billion and ranks 39th.

The founders of Starbucks are three friends from Seattle - Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker and Zev Ziegal. All three friends were from simple families and had not been in business before. They were united by a common love for coffee and the desire to sell the city's residents the best examples of this drink. The niche of high-quality coffee, which was empty in the city at that time, also contributed to the implementation of the idea.

In 1971, J. Baldwin, Z. Ziegal and G. Bowker decided to open their own coffee bean store. They invested $1,350 each in the common business and borrowed an additional $5,000 from the bank.

Interesting fact! The name of the store was given in honor of the character of the book "Moby Dick" Starbuck, who was very fond of coffee. In continuation of the marine theme, the interior of the store was designed in the same style.

The logo for the store was designed by artist Terry Heckler. It featured a mythical siren surrounded by the name of the company. The seductiveness of the siren symbolized that the coffee in this store will not leave anyone indifferent. Over time, the logo has changed several times, but in Seattle, at the first Starbucks store, you can still see the initial version.

Until the early 80s, Starbucks already operated five stores and a small factory, but the owners had no global expansion plans.

Stages of company development

In the early 1980s, regular coffee sales began to decline in the US, and demand for the company's Specialty coffee grew. In the face of rapid growth, the owners of Starbucks were not able to effectively manage their business. In addition, Zev Zigal left the company in 1980. So in 1982, businessman Howard Schultz joined Starbucks to get the business up and running and grow.

After a trip to Milan and getting acquainted with the European culture of coffee consumption, G. Schulz proposed changing the concept of the company, which had previously sold only grains, and opening several coffee bars. The Starbucks coffee shop, which became the company's 6th outlet, quickly became one of the most popular establishments in the city. Soon, G. Schultz opened another coffee house, Il Giornale, which served over 700 visitors after 2 months.

Despite this success, the owners of Starbucks were not ready to move into the restaurant business. In 1987, G. Schultz gathered a group of investors who bought the company from the owners for $3.7 million. All coffee shops have moved under the name Starbucks, and coffee bean shops have become cozy coffee houses. The company itself was named Starbucks Corporation. By the end of the year, the company already had 17 points of sale under its management.

You can watch the biography of Howard Schultz in the video.

In 1988, the company was one of the first in the industry to produce its own catalog, which helped it to establish cooperation with more than 30 stores, and implemented the delivery of goods by mail. In the same year, the expansion of neighboring states began - Starbucks coffee shops appeared in Chicago, Portland and Vancouver.

For 4 years, the company opened about 150 more outlets, and in 1992, 165 Starbucks stores and coffee houses were already operating in the United States. The company's revenue exceeded $73 million. In the same year, a public offering of the company's shares was held, as a result of which the market valued Starbucks at $271 million. 12% of the shares sold brought $25 million in profits, which were invested in expanding the network. Just 3 months after the placement of shares, their price increased by 70%.

1996 - the beginning of the international expansion of the brand. The first country was Japan. A little later, the company's coffee shops appeared in Singapore, Taiwan and South Korea.

In 1998, Starbucks appeared in England. It was decided to enter the British market through the purchase of a large local company, the Seattle Coffee Company, which operated 56 points of sale. The deal is valued at $83 million.

During this period, the company's management initiates the creation of new products and signs several deals aimed at increasing the brand's popularity:

• the company's products began to be offered on United Airlines aircraft;
• sale of coffee via the Internet;
• sale of coffee through large retail chains.

In 2002, Starbucks entered the Latin American market. The first store was opened in Mexico City. Today, over 250 points of the company operate throughout Mexico.

By the beginning of 2007, there were about 16,000 Starbucks coffee shops in more than 40 countries around the world. The company began to sell snacks, accessories and devices for serving and preparing coffee.

Interesting fact! Despite the large number of establishments it operates, the company makes sure that the front doors of coffee shops do not face north. This is done so that visitors to the establishments do not interfere with sunlight to enjoy coffee.

In 2008, the company entered the markets of Europe and South America, which became the main directions of brand development. At the same time, the company closed 70% of stores in Australia (due to the difficulty of learning about the local coffee culture) and experienced difficulties in operating in China.

The global financial crisis significantly worsened the company's performance, and at the end of 2008 Starbucks shares were trading at $4–5/share. But the successful development of business in Europe and Latin America in 2009-2012. caused a good growth in the value of the company's shares, which by the beginning of 2013 were already being sold at $27/share.

You can see the Starbucks success story in the video.

Starbucks competitors

The specifics of Starbucks is such that the company has no competitors in the global market in its niche. The brand has to compete for customers with McCafe from McDonald's, but still these are different market niches.

The main competition for Starbucks is made up of regional players operating in certain regions. So, in Germany, the company competes with Tchibo (a total of 800 points of sale, of which 500 are in Germany), in England - Costa Coffee (a total of about 1,000 points of sale, of which 700 are in the UK), in France - Nespresso (more than 110 points of sale) .

Starbucks in Russia

Starbucks had been planning to enter the Russian market for a long time, but due to various difficulties, it only happened in 2007. The first coffee shop was launched in Khimki in the Mega shopping center, after which several more stores were launched in Moscow. In December 2012, Starbucks launched the first cafe in St. Petersburg. In 2017, over 100 brand establishments operate in Russia. In addition to Moscow in St. Petersburg (more than 80 coffee shops in total), Starbucks is represented in most major Russian cities.

Company in 2017

Starbucks in 2017 is one of the most recognizable and expensive brands in the world. The value of the company's shares exceeds $60/share, and the capitalization is $86.82 billion. Management plans to reach Starbucks' value of $100 billion.

The Starbucks network has about 24,000 outlets with about 200,000 employees.

An important focus of Starbucks is environmental protection. Every year it spends heavily on projects to save energy and protect nature.

You can learn about Starbucks charity in numbers for 2017 from the video.

The biography of the company is its success story, a clear example of how to build life and work. Confucius wrote: “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” A long time ago, three coffee-loving friends did just that. They turned their hobby into a profession. The friends did not have any specific business concept. What they did could be called creativity rather than strategy. And, nevertheless, the whole world soon learned about the coffee house under the original name "Starbucks".

How it all began

So, three young people (two teachers - history and English and a writer), who had known each other from their studies at the university, came up with one idea. Who became the initiator - Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker or Zev Siegl - is not important. Since everyone loved coffee, the idea was simple: to open a store selling a drink in beans. But they needed money for it. The guys chipped in for $1,350 each. Yes, they took five thousand. This was enough for the store to open its doors to everyone on September 30, 1971.

What state did Starbucks coffee shops originate in, you ask? We answer: this is Washington, the city of Seattle.

And one moment. Enthusiasts were inspired to such a feat by Alfred Peet, an entrepreneur who somehow roasted grains in a special way and taught the guys this. And they set about selling coffee according to a secret recipe.

What would you call a boat...

Seattle is the largest center in the northwestern United States and a major seaport. So, thinking about the name of their future brainchild - the Starbucks coffee house, the founders settled on the name of the whaling ship captain's assistant from the famous book "Moby Dick". His name was Starbucks.

They also worked on the logo. We decided to take the image of a siren (mermaid). The color of the picture is brown. In the late 80s and early 90s, it was changed to green. The tail is slightly shortened. The girl's chest was hidden behind the hair flying in the wind. Added asterisks between words.

And finally, in the center is the face of a mermaid. The green rim disappeared, the stars “faded out”. The color of the logo has become much lighter.

So, Starbucks coffee shops appeared on the streets of the city. At first, the company only sold coffee beans in Seattle, but the drink itself was not brewed here. Just a little. They gave a try to those who wished to and this played a role.

Friends learned the technique of the new business from A. Pete and expanded. By 1981, five stores were already operating. There was also a mini coffee roasting factory and a department that supplied its products to local bars and restaurants.

And then the network expanded beyond Seattle. Branches appeared in Chicago and Vancouver.

The next step was to start selling goods by mail. For this, a catalog was compiled. Now you know in which state Starbucks coffee shops appeared. And soon new establishments opened in 33 locations in different parts of the United States. And all thanks to the printed registry.

Incredible fact: in the 90s, Starbucks opened new stores. And it happened almost every working day! The company managed to maintain such a frantic pace until the onset of the 2000s.

Today, for Americans, there is no question of which state the Starbucks coffee shops are located in? Where can you enjoy excellent coffee? There are places like this all over the place!

New markets

And in 1996, the company reached a new level: the first Starbucks coffee shops appeared many kilometers from the USA - in Tokyo (Japan). Following the land of the rising sun, 56 outlets were opened in the UK. Very soon, Starbucks coffee shops appeared in Mexico. Now there are already 250 of them, in Mexico City alone there are about a hundred establishments.

Today, the Starbucks chain of coffee shops is very large. You can't list all the addresses. It is possible to name only the countries where there are these institutions, and then some. These are Switzerland, India, Denmark Germany, South Africa, Poland, Hungary, China, Vietnam, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Portugal, Sweden, Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Norway, France, Colombia, Bolivia.

And in Norway, the airport in Oslo was chosen as the site for the first Starbucks coffee shop. In Beijing, she registered in the hall of international departures of aircraft. In some places, these establishments are located in hotels, for example, in South Africa.

But this is far from over! Last year, in 2014, Starbucks donated six of its stores to Colombia and four to Hanoi. More than ten establishments will be in Bogota in 2015. The same year is scheduled for the opening of a similar cafe in Panama.

In the park, on the ship and on the islands

And in Disneyland, and in different countries, you will find Starbucks establishments. The coming year 2015 was very pleased with many coffee lovers. And here's why: the restless company Starbucks now invites you to drink a fragrant drink on the islands in the English Channel.

Moreover, zealous coffee merchants managed to adapt even the ship to their goals! This happened in 2010. The first store was located on board the cruise ship Allure of the Seas, built by Finnish shipyards. It is the second largest in the world.

And in Russia too

The company's managers have long looked towards the inexhaustible market of Russia. And in the fall of 2007, Starbucks coffee shops appeared in Moscow (in one large shopping center). Very quickly, the residents of the capital appreciated this institution, and it was decided to open several more branches.

In 2012, Starbucks was already talked about in the northern capital - St. Petersburg. On Primorsky Prospekt (lovers of a fragrant drink rush from everywhere, drink it and praise it.

99 coffee shops operate today in Russia. Of these, 71 - in the capital, ten - in St. Petersburg. They are also available in Sochi, Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don and other cities.

Chips do their thing

Those who have visited these establishments never cease to be amazed at the marketing art of the company's leaders. And here everything is involved in the complex.

The biography of the company is impressive. It reflects the long journey from the moment when Starbucks coffee shops appeared in - from a tiny store to the world's largest business empire.

Fans love to visit these establishments not only because of the excellent quality of the drinks, but also because of the incredibly attractive atmosphere. So, the interior of the very first coffee shop has hardly changed in 40 years. Traditions are kept here. And customers enjoy coffee as if they were in a kind of Starbucks museum.

Here's another example. In all the coffee houses of the world, the same melody plays at the same time. And a corrugated cardboard ring is pulled over a paper cup from above: this allows customers not to burn their hands.

And what is the richest menu! This is coffee of different types (including seasonal). There are also many syrups, teas, light salads and, of course, a huge number of desserts.

Let's not forget about the famous thermo mugs, which can be purchased as a souvenir along with branded cups and glasses.

Caring for the environment

A few years ago, the company launched a program called Land for Your Garden. The leaders of the empire decided that their business should be environmentally friendly. The spent was sold to everyone who has his own farm. After all, it can be used for compost.

Then Starbucks took another step worthy of emulation. The company began producing paper napkins and smaller trash bags. This approach entails saving natural resources.

The next stage is our own production. In the manufacture of cups for drinks, they began to use part of recycled paper - only 10 percent. Someone will say that this is very small. Nevertheless, according to the results of the work, Starbucks was awarded the National Prize for such an idea.

Never stand still

You can’t blame the Starbucks coffee shops for conservatism and unwillingness to change something. So, every year, the company pleases us with another innovation.

So, in 2008, a line was launched - Skinny (translated as "skinny"). Clients were offered unsweetened (without sugar) and low-calorie drinks - based on skimmed milk. Everyone could order what they want from a set of sweet natural products - honey or syrup.

In 2009, customers were offered another innovation - coffee, but in bags. Moreover, its quality was so high that many people could not understand: is it an instant drink or freshly brewed?

After a while, visitors were surprised again with a unique innovation. This time it was a cup of the maximum size - a volume of 31 ounces.

After some time, the company again delighted its regular customers, this time with an interesting car. She made her own coffee. It was packaged in thin plastic cups along with milk for latte.

In 2012, ice-cold refreshers were added to the menu of Starbucks coffee shops. They contain an extract from green beans (arabica). They also include fruit flavors, and, of course, caffeine. This product has become widely known. People liked its "strong taste - no coffee aroma".

In 2013, a new era begins - selling through Twitter mobile platforms. And a year later, the production of its own line of carbonated drinks, so to speak, "hand-made", was launched. They can be found on sale under the name Fizzio.

Leaders in everything and always

In 2013, Starbucks was named one of the firms and organizations recognized as the best employers in the world. Fortune magazine included the coffee company in the honorary list of the top 100 enterprises.

The organization has achieved such success thanks to a very thoughtful and fair system of remuneration. First, the publication noted allowances for overtime. Secondly, the fact of a constant increase in wages, regardless of the state of the world economy. Each Starbucks employee can really build a successful career in this company and go from an ordinary bartender to a top manager.

Ask anyone what Seattle gave the world, and most likely you will be told two things: Nirvana (which actually appeared in the town of Aberdeen nearby), and Starbucks. And if Nirvana has not existed for more than 20 years, then Starbucks today is an ubiquitous phenomenon.

The people of Seattle are proud to have given the world a new style of music and to rekindle the popularity of coffee. Since I don’t really understand music, today I’ll talk about Starbucks.

Yulia and I were in Seattle on our way home from. Soon I, without having time to tell anything about this city, for which I received a small scolding from Lena (so far you have only seen her in). Now that I'm home again, I can sort out my debts to Lena and to Seattle. I'll start today with Starbucks.

As everyone knows, Starbucks today is a worldwide network that can be found in every corner of the world. I was told that the Starbucks branch used to work inside! I think a little more, and Starbucks will replace Coca-Cola as the most recognizable brand in the world.

Many are aware that Seattle is the birthplace of Starbucks, but not everyone knows the details of the company's history, and the fact that the First Starbucks still operates in this city. In fact, he is not the first, but more on that later.

This is what the place looks like from the outside:

The sharpest of you have probably noticed that some unusual logos hang above this cafe. Yes - this is the original form of the world famous trademark. Let's take a closer look at it and try to find a few differences:

Did you notice anything? Right! In the original logo, the world-famous mermaid was showing off her boobs!

The first version of the mermaid was taken in 1971 straight from a medieval engraving. When the three friends decided to start their own coffee bean business, they gave some thought to the name, and decided to name their shop after Starbuck, the first mate in the novel Moby Dick. One of the founders heard that names beginning with "st" give the impression of serious and successful businesses. The mermaid just approached the nautical theme - the store was located near the coast in a port city.

At that time, Starbucks did not make coffee, but only sold it in the form of beans. In addition, coffee roasting equipment was on sale, as well as many different teas (including my favorite, smoked Lapsang Souchong).

Coffee and tea were sold by weight. It was impossible to drink a drink in the store, or take it with you in mountain form.

The early 1970s were not the best time for Seattle, and business in the city was slow. The second store was opened a year later, but the network did not find much success for a very long time. By 1986, there were only six coffee shops in Seattle.

At that time, coffee sales in the United States were falling sharply, and the owners decided to sell Starbucks (which was then just starting to brew their own espresso) to one of their former employees, Howard Schultz. He aggressively promoted the business, opening many new coffee shops in the US Northwest and across the border in Canada. Schultz is the head of the company until now.

Shortly after the purchase, in 1987 he finally did a professional logo design. The mermaid remained, but her boobs were modestly hidden by long hair. Instead, her navel was shown to the public. Five years later, in 1992, he also disappeared.

In the 1990s, Starbucks finally found wide success. It was she who popularized espresso-based drinks in the United States and many other places in the world. Today it is customary to pinch your nose to Starbucks coffee (saying that they have really gone bad), but be that as it may, the company created a whole market around itself in which people were willing to pay $ 3 - $ 4 for a coffee drink when there was draft coffee in the store opposite sold for 60 cents.

The success of Starbucks did not go unnoticed - mostly competitors, in an attempt to repeat it, copied what was easiest to copy. The Starbucks logo got rid of the famous "Starbucks Coffee" inscription in 2011, because everyone already knew what the mermaid in the green mug was. But before that, he managed to give rise to a small army of imitators. A circle with a picture in the middle and an inscription around the perimeter (sometimes very similar to the Starbucks font) immediately tells everyone - "Here they will pour you a cup of mediocre, but generally tolerable coffee."

It is this many times copied logo that I consider Seattle's main contribution to world civilization. In many countries (and Russia is one of them), copycats with similar branding entered the market long before Starbucks itself came there.

But back to the First Starbucks, located at 1912 Pike Place Market. There is even a sign inside, very official:

Unfortunately, the sign is blatantly lying. The first and main Starbucks store in 1971 was opened at a different address, nearby. He worked there until the end of 1976, when he was forced to close as the building was about to be demolished. And only in 1977, the owners opened a shop at Pike Place Market, where it is located to this day.

Tourists are not embarrassed by such nuances - and the "First Starbucks" is one of the main attractions of Seattle. Every visitor to the city considers it his duty to come here to drink a cup of mediocre coffee and take a selfie in front of the sign. Because of this, there are almost always queues inside.

I asked if they sell anything special here, since it's the First Starbucks, and I was told that only here they have some kind of unique variety of coffee beans, called "Pike Place Special Reserve" after the address of the coffee shop. From this coffee you can order a drink, or you can just buy a bag of beans the old fashioned way. These packages have an old logo resurrected by some marketing geniuses.

Nearby on the shelves are ordinary products with a modern logo.

Inside, it's hard to distinguish this Starbucks from any other, unless there are more people here. It's amazing, maybe there are people who come here without realizing that this coffee shop is somehow different from thousands of other Starbucks in the world?

Brand: Starbucks

Tagline: You and Starbucks. More than coffee

Industry: trade, restaurant business

Products: coffee

Year of birth of the brand: 1971

Owner: Starbucks Corporation

Starbucks is an American coffee company and chain of coffee houses of the same name. The management company is Starbucks Corporation. Starbucks is the largest coffee company in the world, with over 19,000 coffee shops in 60 countries, including 12,781 in the US, 1,241 in Canada, 1,062 in Japan, 976 in the UK (as of March 2012) and 60 in Russia (as of March 2012) and 60 in Russia (as of October 2012). Starbucks sells espresso, other hot and cold drinks, coffee, hot and cold sandwiches, cakes, snacks, and items such as mugs and glasses. The company's headquarters is in Seattle, Washington.

The company was founded relatively recently, in 1971, and it began its journey as a network of coffee shops. The first store opened on March 30, 1971. The three founders Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker, English teacher, history teacher and writer, decided to go into coffee bean sales and opened their first store in Pike Place Market, Seattle. . The shop was not only the first, but also the only one for a long time. But after ten years of shops Starbucks became five, in addition, the company had its own factory. In addition to selling coffee in its stores, the company was also a supplier of coffee beans for many coffee houses, bars and restaurants.

The name itself Starbucks comes from the name of one of the characters in the famous novel by Herman Melville "Moby Dick". Starbuck - that was the name of the first mate on the ship "Pequod", on which the pursuit of the white whale, nicknamed Moby Dick, took place. The first version of the name of the coffee shop was - "Pequod", after the name of the ship, but this word was rejected. Then the founders, according to one version, began to look for a suitable name, paying attention to the fact that the word reflected the local spirit and flavor of their native Seattle. According to legend, this word was "Starbo" ("Starbo") - that was the name of the old mine, located nearby. But the idea to take the name from the novel was still not abandoned, and a name was found that was consonant with the word "Starbo" - the name of Starbucks' chief mate became the name of the company. Contrary to popular belief, the first mate was not a coffee lover, but for a long time most people (with the exception of English literature teachers) will associate his name with coffee, and not with navigation.

But perhaps the most memorable element of the brand Starbucks became his logo. A mermaid or siren with two tails, found in an old engraving of the sixteenth century, has migrated to the emblem Starbucks and, although slightly changed, has remained there to this day, continuing the maritime theme of the company's name. A mermaid with two tails is a common character in medieval folklore, she was called Melusina or Melisande, this image was often used in heraldry. In 1987, the logo changes, combining the logos of the two companies Starbucks and Il Giornale, it is from Il Giornale sign Starbucks and got its characteristic features - the mermaid was surrounded by a green circle with stars and the name of the company.

It should be noted that the original logo Starbucks can still be seen at the first store in Seattle.

1987 marks a turning point in history Starbucks, Howard Schultz became the owner of the company, who made Starbucks what we know it today. Schultz has worked in Starbucks several years as director of retail sales and marketing, but could not fulfill his dream - to create a chain of coffee houses based on the company. Then he leaves the business and starts his own business - soon Schultz becomes the owner of the Il Giornale coffee chain. And in 1987 he returns and, having found investors, buys the company. Having bought Starbucks, he gives this unusual name to his coffee shops and combines two related activities into one company. Such an alliance turned out to be unusually successful and the chain of coffee houses Starbucks under his leadership she managed to conquer the whole world.

One of the main merits of Howard, which contributed to the success Starbucks, is that he brought standardization to the company. In any coffee shop there is the same assortment of basic goods. In whatever country you are, but you can drink your favorite coffee. Certainly, Starbucks also represents some special products created for some nationality.

Espresso, hot chocolate, Frappuccinos, various syrups, seasonal coffees, teas and more - all this is the range Starbucks. For coffee, you can order a cake or a sandwich. However, unlike most other cafes in Starbucks The focus is on coffee. People come here to drink this drink, not to eat "coffee cake". In general, in America, coffee in Starbucks drink differently. Someone enjoys the amazing atmosphere of a coffee shop, while someone buys a drink and drinks it on the go, on the way to work, for example. Fortunately, plastic cups allow you to do this with comfort.

If we talk about the standardization that Schultz introduced at the company, then it stands out for one more thing - the atmosphere in the coffee shops. On the one hand, the main elements in all institutions Starbucks similar, but on the other - each coffee house has its own characteristics, its own unique atmosphere. And this is largely the merit of Howard Schultz and the company's design team.

In 1988, the company entered the mail order business and released its first product catalog, thanks to which it was able to supply 33 stores in different states of the United States, and in 7 years the company will have 165 stores in America.

In 1992, during the initial public offering on the stock market, Starbucks had 165 outlets.

Japan's first coffee shop opens in 1996 Starbucks outside the USA. In the 1990s, Starbucks opened a new store every business day, maintaining that pace until the early 2000s.

Recent decades Starbucks is engaged in buying up local chains of coffee houses around the world, making them part of its brand. The company has been expanding at a crazy pace lately. Even on The Simpsons, there were a few jokes about how the network Starbucks takes over America. However, now the situation has changed somewhat, and Howard Schultz even announced that Starbucks intends to close about 600 stores in the US this year.

The economic crisis is one of the reasons for the problems Starbucks. Still, in this chain of coffee houses, coffee is frankly expensive. In addition, internal problems in the company also contributed to the current situation. Not so long ago, Howard Schultz announced that he was returning to Starbucks to solve the problems his company is mired in. Just like Michael Dell. Will he get it? Probably yes. Starbucks- one of the favorite brands of Americans. And it's worth it.

IN Starbucks people drink coffee. From businessmen sipping espresso on the go to young couples enjoying themselves at a table (although it should be noted that these tables are not the best). IN Starbucks freelancers are actively working, bloggers write their new posts, and podcasters edit sound files. The atmosphere of this coffee shop attracts people with laptops. Luckily there is Wi-Fi.

Music is constantly playing in the cafe. At the same time, it is interesting that there is a central server that plays the same music throughout the network. Starbucks. This means that the song that you hear now in New York is playing in Seattle right now. This state of affairs led Howard Schultz to an agreement with another icon of American business - Apple. Any user of an iPhone communicator or an iPod Touch player can, by coming to Starbucks instantly purchase the song currently playing through the iTunes Store.

At the same time, recently in coffee houses Starbucks began to sell a lot of foreign goods. The company believed that by doing so they would make Starbucks something more than an ordinary coffee shop. Did not work out. The company recently announced that they would no longer sell music in coffee shops. On average, per day in each establishment Starbucks Sold by one CD. Naturally, this decision does not affect the contract with Apple.

In January 2011, the company announced a logo update. The green ring with the company name disappears from the round logo, and the black and white image of the siren becomes green and white and occupies the entire circle.

"We've allowed the siren to come out of the circle, and that, I think, will give us more freedom and flexibility to see a little more than coffee," said chief executive Howard Schultz.

Now Starbucks is not in the best situation, but probably soon the company will make every effort to get out of the crisis. It remains only to wait. It is unlikely that the situation will improve immediately.