Starbucks Coffee Company Invades the European Market

In 1987 a young man, Howard Schultz began the Starbucks Coffee Company after buying out a small café chain bearing the same name. His book, Onward, co-authored with Joanne Gordon, provides an outline of Schultz’s experiences as CEO as well as crucial business decisions that he made along the way. Starbucks offers a unique coffeehouse atmosphere by encompassing the European-style café while providing each customer with an outstanding level of service quality. The company was referred to in Business Wire as being, “committed to offering the highest quality coffee and Starbucks Experience and conducting its business in ways that help foster social, environmental and economic benefits for communities in which it does business” (Pucik). This attitude reflects the core values of Schultz’s empire, which have transformed Starbucks Coffee Company into “one of the best worldwide brands” (Michelli). Starbucks now accommodates over 60 million weekly visitors, spread throughout 59 countries all across the globe! This company has created what they call the “third place” in a customer’s life, after home and work. Schultz has been successful in creating “an alternative to the corner tavern or pub, a place where people could go to read their paper, eat a pastry or snack, and drink a great cup of coffee” (Allen & Wheat). By fulfilling this unknown need, Starbucks has been able to offer a service and product that consumers have responded to favorably. Starbucks’ ultimate mission is “to inspire and nurture the human spirit one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time” (Schultz). It is this sense of compassion and belonging, to a community, that makes Schultz’s business endeavor so distinctive. As one of the fastest growing retailers in United States history, only seven years after its first store opening there were over 400 stores throughout the nation. Starbucks Coffee Company “was poised to expand at the rate of 200 stores a year and by acquisition – and

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