|
STARBUCKS TIMELINE August 2007 |
|
|
1971 |
Starbucks opens its first store in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. |
|
1982 |
Howard Schultz joins Starbucks as director of retail operations and marketing. Starbucks begins providing coffee to fine restaurants and espresso bars. |
|
1983 |
Schultz travels to Italy, where he’s impressed with the popularity of espresso bars in Milan. He sees the potential to develop a similar coffeehouse culture in Seattle. |
|
1984 |
Schultz convinces the founders of Starbucks to test the coffeehouse concept in downtown Seattle, where the first Starbucks® Caffè Latte is served. This successful experiment is the genesis for a company that Schultz founds in 1985. Starbucks introduces Starbucks® Christmas Blend. |
|
1985 |
Schultz founds Il Giornale, offering brewed coffee and espresso beverages made from Starbucks® coffee beans. |
|
1986 |
Il Giornale introduces Eggnog Latte. |
|
1987 |
With the backing of local investors, Il Giornale acquires Starbucks assets and changes its name to Starbucks Corporation. Opens in Chicago and Vancouver, B.C. Store total at fiscal yearend = 17 |
|
1988 |
Offers full health benefits to full- and part-time employees. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 33 |
|
1989 |
Opens in Portland, Ore. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 55 |
|
1990 |
Starbucks expands headquarters in Seattle and builds a new roasting plant. Awarded Horizon Air account. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 84 |
|
1991 |
Establishes a relationship with CARE, the international relief and development organization, and introduces the CARE coffee sampler. Becomes the first privately owned U.S. company to offer a stock option program that includes part-time employees. Opens first licensed airport store with HMSHost at Sea-Tac International Airport. Opens in Los Angeles. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 116 |
|
1992 |
Completes initial public offering (IPO), with common stock being traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the trading symbol “SBUX.” Opens in San Francisco; San Diego; Orange County, Calif.; and Denver. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 165 |
|
1993 |
Begins Barnes & Noble, Inc., relationship. Completes $80.5 million convertible debenture offering. Opens second roasting plant in Kent, Wash. Announces first 2-for-1 stock split effective September 29. Opens in Washington, D.C. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 272 |
|
1994 |
Awarded ITT/Sheraton (now Starwood Hotels) account. Completes offering of additional common stock. Opens in Minneapolis; Boston; New York; Atlanta; Dallas; and Houston. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 425 |
|
1995 |
Begins selling compact discs (CDs) as a result of an extremely popular in-house music program. Awarded United Airlines account. Begins serving Frappuccino® blended beverages. Opens roasting facility in York, Pa. Forms alliance with Canadian bookstore chain Chapters, Inc. (Chapters). Forms alliance with Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream (Dreyer’s) and introduces Starbucks® super premium ice cream. Completes $165 million convertible debenture offering. Starbucks Coffee International forms joint venture with SAZABY Inc. to open Starbucks stores in Japan. Announces second 2-for-1 stock split effective December 1. Opens in Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Las Vegas; Cincinnati; Baltimore; San Antonio; and Austin, Texas. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 677 |
|
1996 |
Awarded Westin (now Starwood Hotels) account. North American Coffee Partnership (Starbucks and Pepsi- Cola North America) begins selling bottled Frappuccino® coffee drink. Converts approximately $80.5 million of its 4.5 percent convertible subordinated debentures to common stock. Opens in Rhode Island; Idaho; North Carolina; Arizona; Hawaii; Utah; and Ontario, Canada. Starbucks Coffee International opens in Japan and Singapore. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 1,015 |
|
1997 |
Converts approximately $165 million of its 4.25 percent convertible subordinated debentures to common stock. Forms alliance with eight companies enabling the gift of more than 320,000 books to children through the All Books for Children book drive. Establishes The Starbucks Foundation, benefiting local literacy programs in communities where Starbucks has coffeehouses. Introduces Starbucks Barista® home espresso machine, capable of using ground coffee or convenient preground, premeasured espresso pods. Offers Frappuccino® Low fat Ice Cream Bars, a low fat decadent treat. Opens in Florida; Michigan; and Wisconsin. Starbucks Coffee International opens in the Philippines. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 1,412 |
|
1998 |
Introduces Milder Dimensions, a lighter and milder tasting line of premium coffee blends. Acquires Seattle Coffee Company in the U.K. with more than 60 stores. Forms Urban Coffee Opportunities LLC, a joint venture COMPANY TIMELINE © 2007 STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. with Earvin “Magic” Johnson’s Johnson Development Corp., to develop Starbucks stores in diverse, urban and suburban communities lacking major high-end brands. Signs a licensing agreement with Kraft Foods, Inc., to extend the Starbucks brand into grocery channels across the U.S. Launches Starbucks.com. Offers the Doonesbury@Starbucks line of products, with all net proceeds donated to local literacy organizations. Opens in New Orleans; St. Louis; Kansas City, Mo.; and Portland, Maine. Starbucks Coffee International opens in Taiwan; Thailand; New Zealand; and Malaysia. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 1,886 |
|
1999 |
Acquires Tazo LLC (Tazo), a tea company based in Portland, Ore. Partners with Conservation International to promote environmentally responsible methods of growing coffee. Introduces Shade Grown Mexico coffee. Acquires Hear Music, a San Francisco–based music company. Introduces Starbucks Barista Aroma™ Solo thermal coffeemaker, an insulated automatic drip coffee brewer. Enters into agreement with Albertsons, Inc. Opens in Memphis and Nashville, Tenn.; and Saskatchewan, Canada. Announces the third 2-for-1 stock split effective March 19. Starbucks Coffee International opens in Beijing; Kuwait; South Korea; and Lebanon. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 2,498 |
|
2000 |
Howard Schultz transitions from chairman and chief executive officer to chairman and chief global strategist. Orin Smith promoted to president and chief executive officer. Enters into agreement with Safeway. Introduces a Commitment to Origins™ coffee category that includes shade grown, organic and Fair Trade Certified™ selections. Expands contribution to Conservation International to establish conservation efforts in five new sites. Launches Special Reserve program in a quest to find the highest quality coffee in the world. Enters into agreement with Host Marriott International. Starbucks Coffee International opens in Dubai; Hong Kong; Shanghai; Qatar; Bahrain; Saudi Arabia; and Australia. Establishes licensing agreement with TransFair USA to sell Fair Trade Certified™ coffee in U.S. and Canada. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 3,501 |
|
2001 |
Introduces coffee-sourcing guidelines developed in partnership with Conservation International. Commits to purchase one million pounds of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee. Provides $1 million in financial support to coffee farmers through Calvert Community Investments. Begins a four-year, $1 million philanthropic partnership with Jumpstart, a national organization that pairs college student tutors with preschoolers. Introduces the Starbucks Card, a stored-value card for customers to use and reload. Enters into agreement with Hyatt Hotels Corp. (Hyatt) Starbucks and international business partners seed Starbucks Cares Fund with $1.2 million contribution to benefit September 11th Fund. Customers and partners (employees) contribute more than $1.4 million to Starbucks Cares. Starbucks Board of Directors authorizes stock repurchase plan of up to $60 million of stock. Announces the fourth 2-for-1 stock split effective on April 27. Starbucks opens 300th store in Japan and celebrates fifth year of business in Japan. Starbucks Coffee Japan introduces a stock-option program for eligible full- and part-time partners (employees) and successfully implements IPO. Starbucks Coffee International opens in Switzerland and Austria. Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 4,709 |
|
2002 |
Signs memorandum of understanding with Fair trade Labeling Organizations International (FLO) enabling Starbucks to enter into licensing agreements with national Fair Trade organizations to sell Fair Trade Certified™ coffee in the countries where Starbucks does business. Publishes its first Corporate Social Responsibility Annual Report. Celebrates 10-year anniversary of Starbucks IPO. Introduces Starbucks DoubleShot® espresso drink to the ready-to-drink category. Signs licensing agreement with TransFair Canada to bring Fair Trade CertifiedSM coffee to more than 270 stores in Canada. Reinforces its dedication to coffee-producing countries and the farmers who grow Starbucks® coffee through an expanded line of Commitment to Origins™ coffees. Extends the beverage menu line to include crème, a non-coffee blended beverage option. Launches its high-speed wireless internet service branded TMobile ® HotSpot™ in U.S. stores. Tazo and Mercy Corps establish Collaboration for Hope and Advancement in India (CHAI), a project to strengthen communities in the tea-growing district of Darjeeling, where Tazo purchases some of the finest teas available in the world. Organizes more than 45,000 volunteer hours in the month of September and contributes more than $275,000 through the Starbucks Make Your Mark program to charitable organizations across North America. Starbucks Board of Directors authorizes stock repurchase plan of up to 10 million shares. Establishes Seattle Coffee Trading Company (SCTC) in the Canton of Vaud, Lausanne, Switzerland COMPANY TIMELINE © 2007 STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Starbucks Coffee International opens in Oman; Indonesia; Germany; Spain; Puerto Rico; Mexico; Greece; and Southern China (Macau and Shenzhen). Starbucks store total at fiscal yearend = 5,886 |
|
2003 |
The Starbucks Foundation awards more than 650 grants totaling $6.5 million to literacy, schools and community-based organizations across North America since 1997. Begins three-year $225,000 commitment to America SCORES, a national non-profit, youth development organization that uses soccer and literacy to inspire teamwork among at-risk children in urban public schools. Introduces Shade Grown Mexico and Fair Trade Certified™ coffees to the coffee selections available to Hyatt Hotel and Resort’s guests. Develops and launches Starbucks Card Duetto™ Visa,® the first-of-its-kind payment card blending Visa credit card functionality with the reloadable Starbucks Card. Starbucks Board of Directors authorizes stock repurchase plan of up to 10 million shares. Acquires Seattle Coffee Company, which includes Seattle’s Best Coffee and Torrefazione Italia coffee brands. Celebrates Earth Day with a $50,000 contribution to Earth Day Network. Introduces Iced Shaken Refreshments, a handcrafted and refreshing new beverage category featuring coffee and tea shaken over ice. Starbucks Coffee International opens its 1,000th Asia Pacific store in Beijing, China. Encourages more than 50,000 hours of partner and customer volunteer time and contributes $500,000 to nonprofit organizations across North America through Make Your Mark volunteer program in September. Opens new state-of-the-art roasting facilities in Carson Valley, Nev., and Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Starbucks Coffee International opens in Turkey; Chile; Peru; and Cyprus. Starbucks store total at fiscal year end = 7,225 |
|
2004 |
Starbucks Coffee International opens in Paris. Extends Conservation International partnership with a new three-year agreement and $1.5 million grant, and provides $2.5 million loan to help capitalize the non-profit’s newly launched Verde Ventures fund. Verde Ventures provides direct access to affordable credit for small-scale coffee producers. Opens Starbucks Farmer Support Center in San Jose, Costa Rica. Introduces in-store CD-burning service powered by HP. The new music delivery experience allows Starbucks customers to create personalized CDs at the Starbucks Hear Music™ Coffeehouse in Santa Monica, Calif. Dedicates six weeks to promote environmental awareness in its company-operated stores in North America and engages millions of customers in a dialogue about environmental stewardship. Tazo and Kraft Foods announce licensing agreement to distribute Tazo® super premium teas in U.S. grocery channels. Announces Starbucks and Jim Beam Brands Co. agreement to develop and market a superpremium Starbucks-branded coffee liqueur outside of Starbucks stores. Presents Jumpstart with $100,000 in honor of the non-profit’s 10-year anniversary. Loans $1 million to Calvert Community Investments, enabling Calvert to provide affordable credit to the Fair Trade Certified™ coffee farmers. Joins the United Nations Global Compact, an international network of corporations, U.N. agencies, trade unions and nongovernmental organizations that support a shared set of nine principles about the environment, labor and human rights. Expands agreement with United Airlines to include cooperative marketing agreement. Debuts strategic marketing alliance with XM Satellite Radio featuring a 24-hour Starbucks Hear Music™ channel. Launches Hear Music™ media bar CD burning service in select stores in Seattle and Austin, Texas. Introduces new Frappuccino® Light blended coffee beverages. Signs licensing agreement to open Seattle’s Best Coffee cafes in more than 400 existing Borders Books & Music® (Borders) stores over the next several years in the continental U.S. and Alaska, and within new Borders stores as they open. Introduces 100 percent Kona coffee as the first of the Black Apron Exclusives™ assortment of coffees, a new line of rare, exotic coffees available only in limited quantities. Releases Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company CD through a collaboration between Concord Records and Starbucks Hear Music. Forms Conservation Coffee Alliance partnership with the United States Agency for International Development and Conservation International in an effort to improve the livelihoods of small-scale coffee farmers. Grants $500,000 to America SCORES to promote literacy and the physical and social well-being of at-risk youth. Expands high speed wireless service, T-Mobile® HotSpot™ to more than 3,300 Starbucks stores. Introduces Starbucks Coffee Master Program to provide Starbucks partners with an opportunity to learn more about the world of coffee, and share their passion with customers and partners. Starbucks store total at fiscal year end = 8,569 |
|
2005 |
Orin Smith retires as Starbucks president and chief executive officer. Jim Donald promoted to president and chief executive officer. Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company wins eight GRAMMY® Awards including “Album of the Year” and “Record of the Year.” COMPANY TIMELINE © 2007 STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Introduces Starbucks™ Coffee Liqueur and Starbucks™ Cream Liqueur. Created with the Starbucks enthusiast in mind. Responds to the tremendous tsunami devastation in South Asia by donating more than $1.5 million for tsunami relief and recovery, channeled through a variety of relief organizations around the world, including Oxfam affiliates, the Red Crescent Society and Save the Children. Reports that as part of its long-term commitment to aid the relief and recovery efforts following Hurricane Katrina, Starbucks will make an initial commitment of $5 million over five years to impacted U.S. Gulf Coast communities. Introduces a unique, limited-edition Starbucks Card bearing the image of Seattle Mariners superstar Ichiro Suzuki with Major League Baseball. This first-ever commemorative Starbucks Card benefits children’s charities in the United States and Japan. Acquires Ethos Water and sets a goal of donating $10 million to support clean water projects around the world over the next five years. Announces $5 million Starbucks China Education Program in Beijing to support access to education, underscoring Starbucks commitment to creating a long-term relationship with the people of China. Introduces Starbucks Discoveries,™ a ready-to-drink (RTD) chilled cup coffee, in Japan and Taiwan. Available in two flavors, Seattle (latte) and Milano (espresso), the drinks are available at most convenience stores in Tokyo and Taiwan. Herbie Hancock: Possibilities becomes first global release by Hear Music (in conjunction with Hancock Music, Vector Recordings, and Warner Music International). Announces that the Board of Directors authorizes the repurchase of up to five million shares of the company’s common stock. Starbucks Board of Directors approves a 2-for-1 stock split. This is the fifth 2-for-1 split of the company’s common stock since its initial public offering in 1992. Starbucks and the African Wildlife Foundation announce the launch of the “Coffee for Conservation” project, aimed at promoting coffee quality, environmental sustainability and natural resource conservation in East Africa. Opens the next evolution of the Hear Music™ Coffeehouse in San Antonio, offering more than one million digital tracks to sample and burn. Introduces Café Estima Blend,™ a Fair Trade Certified™ coffee, a complex coffee with a dark roast. Purchases 10 million pounds of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee and becomes North America’s largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified™ coffee. Starbucks Coffee International opens stores in the Bahamas; Ireland; and Starbucks first company-operated stores in Dalian in Northeast China. Introduces Aged Sumatra Lot 523, Kigabah Estate, Elephant Kinjia, La Candelilla Estate and Ethiopia Sun-Dried Shirkina as Black Apron Exclusives™ coffees. Starbucks store total at fiscal year end = 10,241 |
|
2006 |
Announces innovative model for the marketing of Lionsgate and 2929 Entertainment’s new film, Akeelah and the Bee. Introduces Starbucks DoubleShot® Light espresso drink in U.S. Acquires full ownership of Coffee Partners Hawaii, the joint venture company that operates Starbucks stores in Hawaii and Café del Caribe, the joint-venture company that operates Starbucks stores in Puerto Rico. Introduces Rwanda Blue Bourbon Black Apron Exclusives™ coffee, one of the world’s oldest and rarest coffee species, which thrives in Rwanda’s high elevations and is prized for its elegant flavor. Starbucks Coffee Master Count reaches more than 22,000 partners worldwide. Starbucks through its Ethos Water brand invited partners and customers in 11 U.S. cities to take part in Walks for Water to commemorate World Water Day, raising awareness for the more than 1.1 billion people worldwide who lack access to clean drinking water. Introduces bottled Strawberries and Crème Frappuccino® crème beverage, the first non-coffee bottled Starbucks®beverage. Introduces ready-to-drink Starbucks® Iced Coffee, a refreshing, cold coffee drink with just a touch of milk and sweetness. Pledges $550,000 to revitalize historic Central District Park on Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Seattle, part of Starbucks $1 million commitment to the improvement of parks in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties in 2006. Starbucks Coffee International enters a joint-venture agreement with Cafés Sereia do Brasil Participações S.A., a Brazilian holding company led by successful local retailers, to form Starbucks Brasil Comercio de Cafes Ltda. (Starbucks Brasil). Debuts Pomegranate Frappuccino® juice blend and Tangerine Frappuccino® juice blend made with fruit juice and freshlybrewed Tazo® tea. Starbucks Coffee Company and Pepsi-Cola North America announce through their joint-venture partnership, the North American Coffee Partnership, the signing of a distribution agreement for Ethos Water. Starbucks Coffee Company hosts the first “African Coffee Celebration” at its Seattle headquarters to honor coffee farmers in East Africa. Starbucks opens 100th Urban Coffee Opportunities (UCO) store. Supports Jumpstart’s Read for the Record campaign; contributes to a world record for the largest shared reading experience ever. Launches Starbucks™ Coffee Liquor and Starbucks™ Crème Liquor in Canada. Introduces Starbucks DoubleShot® espresso drink in Korea. Announces expansion of relationship with Kraft to distribute Starbucks® coffee into retail channels in Canada and the U.K. COMPANY TIMELINE © 2007 STARBUCKS COFFEE COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Announces plans to roll out Starbucks hot vending machines, using proprietary technology developed by Pepsi-Cola North America, where a latte is heated on demand for customers. Starbucks Coffee International enters Egypt. Starbucks store total at fiscal year end = 12,440 |
|
2007 |
Starbucks Coffee International enters Romania. Extends partnership with Earthwatch Institute, the world’s leading environmental volunteer organization, will bring Starbucks partners (employees) and customers together to conduct scientific research designed to benefit a cooperative of 2,600 coffee farms in Costa Rica. CARE, the international humanitarian and development organization, receives a $500,000 commitment from Starbucks to help fund a three-year program that will improve economic and educational prospects for more than 6,000 people in rural Ethiopia’s coffee growing regions. Starbucks Entertainment and Concord Music Group form a new record label, Hear Music, to forge relationships with artists and distribute recordings in Starbucks and traditional music channels. Hear Music announces Paul McCartney is the first artist signed to the new record label. Teams with Global Green USA to launch Planet Green Game to encourage individuals to “click, play and learn” about global climate change and smart solutions. Champions new film, “Arctic Tale,” as part of new relationship with Paramount Classics and National Geographic Films to build awareness and foster discussion around the climate change issue. Launches a Spanish edition of the Fiscal 2006 Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Annual Report interactive website. This is the first time the Spanish edition of the Report has been available online in this detail. Announces a development and distribution agreement with The Hershey Company to create and market a new Starbucks branded premium chocolate platform in the United States starting in the fall. |