Starbuck

Top-quality, fresh-roasted, whole-bean coffee was the company's differentiating feature and a core value. It was also clear to Schultz that Starbucks was strongly committed to educating its customers on the qualities of fine coffees, rather than just playing the game of the mass-market appeal. At this time, the company depended mainly on word-of-mouth to get more people into its stores and then relied on the quality of its product to give consumers a sense of discovery and excitement. Starbucks then built customer loyalty "cup by cup-, as buyers of its products developed their palates and became familiar with them. .
             By 1987 Howard Schultz, who was at that time a Starbucks employee, acquired the company. Schultz joined Starbucks as director of retail operations and a business trip to Milan's famous coffee shops in 1983 opened Schultz's eyes to the rich tradition of the espresso beverage. Schultz recalls, "What I saw was the unique relationship that the Italian people had with the ubiquitous coffee bars around Italy. People used the local coffee bar as the third place from home and work. What I wanted to try and do was re-create that in North America."" (www.starbucks.com) Inspired by the Italian espresso bars, Schultz convinced executives to have Starbucks' stores serve coffee by the cup. Starbuck's executives agreed and as a result the company has seen phenomenal growth from 17 coffee outlets in Seattle almost 15 years back to 5689 shops in around 28 countries worldwide. Starbucks went public in 1993 and has done extremely well in turning an everyday beverage into a premium product. The green and white mermaid logo is widely recognized; the brand is defined by not only its products, but also by attitude. Business Week's survey (2002) of the top global brands reported Starbucks as one of the fastest growing brands. It is all about the Starbucks experience, the atmosphere and the place that is a refuge for most people to get away from everyday stresses.