This is a summary of Starbucks history.
Seattle, 1971 The history of Starbucks starts in Seattle in 1971. Three friends, Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker, who all had a passion for fresh coffee, opened a small shop and began selling fresh-roasted, gourmet coffee beans and brewing and roasting accessories. The company did well, but things began to change in the 80s. First, Zev Siegl sold out in 1980. Yet at that time, Starbucks was the largest roaster in Washington with six retail outlets. In 1981 a plastics salesman noticed the number of plastic drip-brewing thermoses that Starbucks was buying from Hammarplast, the manufacturer that he represented. Howard Schultz would become to Starbucks what Ray Kroc was to McDonald's, a supporting salesman who saw a great product and a great opportunity. Howard Schultz In 1982 Baldwin hired Schultz as the new head of marketing and shortly thereafter sent him to Milan to attend an international housewares show in Italy. When he arrived, Schultz found himself infatuated with the exciting coffee culture of Italy. Schultz went to Verona and had his first caffe latte. But he observed something more important than the coffee. The cafe patrons were chatting and otherwise enjoying themselves while sipping their coffees in the elegant surroundings. It was an "aha" moment as inspiration struck. A great idea Schultz describes that moment as an epiphany, "Why not create community gathering places like the great coffee house of Italy in the United States?" Could the Old World meet the New World? If it succeeded, it would be marketing genius. By 1983 the marketing manager had a vision of recreating the magic and romance behind the Italian coffee bar and wanted to test out the concept of selling espresso by the cup.
When Starbucks Coffee opened its sixth store in downtown Seattle, the coffee shop was a hit. It was an immediate success.
The era of growth Starbucks coffee history was just was beginning to take shape. Starting from a base of 17 stores in 1987, the company expanded rapidly to other cities: Vancouver, Portland, and Chicago. By 1991 Starbucks had also expanded into the mail-order catalog business and licensed airport stores and expanded further into the state of California. In 1992 the company went public, and after the initial public offering, Starbucks continued to grow at a phenomenal pace that no one had ever seen in the coffee world before. By 1997 the number of Starbucks Coffee stores grew tenfold, with locations in the United States, Japan, and Singapore.
