Vehicles, the sounds of birds chirping if you can listen closely, lots of people rushing on their way to work- most of whom have got a fresh cup of Starbucks coffee in their hands to get them ready for the day, probably from the Starbucks ahead or the Starbucks from the street you just passed. Or possibly the one from the street you’re about to turn into.
Starbucks- The Rise
Starbucks began in the 70s, with three classmates from the University of San Francisco- Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl and Gordon Bowker. The once nascent coffee house started growing with the entry of the man whose name is now synonymous with the brand than the founders themselves- Howard Schultz. Schultz joined the then very-small Starbucks venture as a marketing officer and took a trip to Italy, where he was inspired by the aesthetic and communal love for coffee- every street had a little café, a bodega, a store or a boutique which sold coffee with places to sit and enjoy too. And it is this idea that he brought back home and used to grow the Starbucks name into what it is today.
He began with buying the Starbucks brand from the original owners for approximately 3 million USD- a very large amount at the time of sale. And within 10 years after Schultz acquired the brand, he had 1,000 privately owned stores up and running- very successfully. Starbucks saw a meteoric rise in the years to follow and began opening up cafes across the world as well- their most notable international achievement considered to be their entry into Italy- the country which inspired the dream in the first space.
So, Who Owns Starbucks Then?
Starbucks is owned by the Starbucks Corporation, which is the holding company of Starbucks as we know it. Starbucks which is formally known as Starbucks Coffee Company, is a multinational coffee-house café company, with over 30,000 branches across the world; with a little more than 15,000 cafes located in the United States alone!
Howard Schultz, the man responsible for the growth of the brand continues to hold the largest individual stake in the brand- his holding is worth approximately 2.9 billion USD! He is joined by some other majority stakeholders, such as Vanguard Inc., BlackRock Inc., State Street Corporation and Magellan Asset Management.
Vanguard Inc. owns around 7% of shares in Starbucks, which easily amounts to an estimate of 6 billion USD. BlackRock Inc. owns around 7% as well! State Street Corporation owns around 5% of Starbuck shares and Magellan Asset Management owns about 3%.
In hindsight, the percentages might not seem huge- but these shares amount to a huge amount of money- a lot of those around you might not even know how to count that high!
The Starbucks Corporation, apart from Starbucks Coffee Company, also owns Ethos Water, Teavana and La Boulange, amongst other brands. They’ve also gone on to sell equipment, cool merchandise with the iconic two-tailed mermaid logo monogrammed on it and also sell their freshly ground and roasted coffee powder packed in aesthetic packets! Starbucks is now also a hot location for those looking to go on a first date, hang out with friends or just take some time off alone.
