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Starbucks’ Purchasing System

Glimpse of Starbucks and Other Players in the Industry

Behind a company’s success, there are so many stories to tell, ups and downs, where they all start from zero. The world’s leading coffee, Starbucks, did not get the reputation by luck, but by their dream and vision supported by actions and hard work. This chapter will be discussing a little bit of information as follow:
• Starbucks’ history, how they started the business and how they grew.
• Market with the other coffee companies, how they affected the Starbucks’ business in the market.


Starbucks’ History
Starbucks set its first footprint in Seattle, Washington in 1971 by three partners - English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel, and writer Gordon Bowker. The three were inspired by Alfred Peet, whom they knew personally, to open their first store in Pike Place Market to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment. About eleven years after, entrepreneur Howard Schultz joined the company, bringing in an idea to sell coffee and expresso drink as well as beans, which was rejected by the original owners. This made Howard Schultz start his Il Giornale coffee bar chain in 1985, which then bought Starbucks after it bought Peet’s. Since then it quickly began to expand. See Figure 1.1 to see more clear picture of Starbucks and its footprints.

Today, for U.S. people, Starbucks is a lovely place for friends to hang out; for customers in other countries, this brand in certain degree represents western culture. It is no doubt that this company with totally 12,440 stores in 37 countries created a legend in coffee retail industry.

Market and Its Competition among Coffee Companies

As shown at Figure 1.1, there were a lot of others companies serving the same market as Starbucks is, which then being bought by Starbucks. To be on top of the competition, Starbucks plans to continue to rapidly expand its retail operations, grow its specialty sales and other operations, and selectively pursue...