The story of how Schultz & Co. transformed a pedestrian commodity
into an upscale consumer accessory has a fairy-tale quality.
Starbucks grew from 17 coffee shops in Seattle 15 years ago to
over 16,000 outlets in 50 countries. Sales have climbed an average
of 20 percent annually since the company went public, peaking at
$10.4 billion in 2008 before falling to $9.8 billion in 2009. Profi ts
bounded ahead an average of 30 percent per year through 2007
peaking at $673, then dropping to $582 billion and $494 billion in
2008 and 2009, respectively. The fi rm closed 475 stores in the U.S.
in 2009 to reduce costs.