The story of Starbucks began here,
at Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market,
where three friends opened a little specialty coffee store in 1971.
They sold whole-bean coffee
from places like Colombia, Indonesia and Ethiopia -
coffee they roasted themselves and hand-scooped into paper bags.
To name the place, they looked to the nearby waterfront for inspiration.
They chose the name Starbucks,
evoking a character from the classic novel “Moby Dick”.
For the logo, they chose a Siren as alluring as the coffee itself.
Ten years later, a young New Yorker named Howard Schultz
traveled to Seattle and walked down the Market’s cobblestone streets
for the first time, and into Starbucks.
From that first sip of Sumatra,
he became entranced with the coffee and the company,
and joined in 1982 as the Director of Operations and Marketing.
Another year and another cobblestone road,
brought him to the streets of Milan, Italy.
It was there, Howard noticed these casual welcoming coffee houses everywhere.
All who entered these cafés were greeted with the same warmth and enthusiasm,
whether it was their first visit ever
or their third that day.
The people holding cups of espresso and cappuccino,
family, friends, coworkers, even perfect strangers
seemed to be so present, so connected -
and all amid the joyful clatter of coffee grinders, steaming milk and Italian opera.
Howard was exhilarated by his idea to bring Italy’s
café and espresso culture back home with him.
He convinced Starbucks to open a test café in a single downtown store.
And on a rainy morning in Seattle, Starbucks served its first café latte.
For the cup of good coffee, I just walk half a block north
on Fourth Avenue to Starbucks. All those great caffeine-charged drinks with the Italian names,
Caffé Latte, Caffé Macchiato, and Mocha.
I love it!
In 1987, Howard and a group of investors acquired Starbucks,
merging Starbucks Coffee with the Il Giornale coffeehouses
Howard had started two years before.
Starbucks opened its first stores outside the Puget Sound
in Chicago and Vancouver, Canada.
A culture started to form,
a culture that would serve as a foundation for the young company’s values.
Starbucks wrote its first mission statement,
guided by a commitment to maintain its uncompromising principles as it grew.
Starbucks also did something unheard of in the retail industry in those days -
offering full health benefits to employees,
even for those working part-time.
And then Starbucks made its employees partners,
offering equity in the company through Bean Stock.
By the time Starbucks Initial Public Offering came around in 1992,
Starbucks was really starting to take off.
Starbucks coffee was served on airlines, in airports, and the company was even
making a splash on something called the World Wide Web.
Soon you could soon see the Siren on storefronts in Los Angeles and New York.
We started to make the experience all our own,
adding comfy chairs and playing jazz and blues.
Customers liked our music so much, we began making our own CDs,
beginning with the Blue Note Blend.
By our 25th anniversary in 1996,
Starbucks was ready to expand beyond the U.S. and Canada.
To be honest, no one was sure how this would go.
Three, two, one!
Japan embraced Starbucks,
and the company soon opened more stores in Asia Pacific
before moving on to Europe…
Each day, somewhere in the world, we open three Starbucks stores.
Today, it’s our turn.
China, the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Then you see the bewildering menu.
You don’t see the word coffee anywhere.
Starbucks continued to pop up in more pop culture as well,
in movies, TV shows and late-night comedy.
The category, top ten things you don’t want to hear from a guy at Starbucks.
Starbucks was trying all kinds of new things.
Some were hits, like Frappuccino.
Good evening. Welcome to Starbucks.
I can take your order when you’re ready.
And, people flocked to our first drive-thru.
And a nice, Double Tall, Non-Fat Latte.
Thanks a lot!
Other ideas? Well, perhaps they were just ahead of their time.
Starbucks tried to make the world a little bit better,
starting the CUP Fund to help partners in crisis,
opening its first farmer support center,
planting community gardens,
and reading to kids.
But by 2007, some cracks were starting to show.
Going from 1,000 to 13,000 stores, Starbucks was seemingly everywhere.
But with growth came sacrifice and customers felt the experience
had become too sterile – cookie cutter.
Same-store sales declined for the first time in history.
No company is immune from the impact of the recession
not even the one time darling of Wall Street, Starbucks.
It was clear the company had to do something.
And so it did.
Starbucks partners rededicated themselves to coffee,
to their customers, and to each other.
Starbucks refocused on its core values
and on reigniting people’s passion for coffee and innovation.
The company’s new mission became a guiding star:
“To inspire and nurture the human spirit –
one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.”
This mission gave partners a purpose and something to believe in
when they needed it most.
And they got to work rebuilding the company.
Partners returned to their love affair with coffee
and thanked customers for their loyalty -
and reached out to them in new ways –
always listening and learning.
And Starbucks made its stores
a better reflection of the neighborhoods they serve.
As Howard would say,
“Dream big, and then dream bigger.”
We bought a farm we named Hacienda Alsacia
celebrating coffee – in the places where coffee is grown –
in stores - and in the hearts of partners and customers.
Meeting customers where they are
and using technology to help improve the connection.
In 2017, in the spot where it all began,
Starbucks started a new chapter
when Howard handed over his key to the Pike Place store
to a new CEO…Kevin Johnson.
The 1912 key is a symbol.
But this key is also the key to our future.
Each day, we dedicate ourselves to living our values:
creating a culture of inclusion and warmth
where everyone is welcome -
How to act with boldness and courage
to challenge the status quo.
For the past 50 years, the Starbucks mission and values
have been not only an anchor for this journey
but the wind in our sails.
Who we were in the beginning is who we are today.