Topic
42 facts from 6 episodes, in date order. These are what speakers said on the shows, each linked to the moment it was said. They aren't independently verified.
1971
Howard Schultz says that when Starbucks opened in Pike Place Market in 1971 it sold Pete's Coffee in Starbucks bags rather than roasting its own.
“Now, what is not known is that when Starbucks opened in the Pike Place Market in 1971, they were using Pete's Coffee.”
1971
Schultz says Starbucks sold only whole-bean coffee, with no beverages, from 1971 until about 1985 or 1986.
“But you have to remember, Starbucks Coffee Company from 1971 until around 85, 86 only sold pounds of coffee. There was no beverage.”
1982
Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982 as head of marketing, when the company was preparing to open its fourth store.
“I was offered the job as the head of marketing for Starbucks when they were getting ready to open their fourth store in 1982.”
1985
After his 1983 Milan trip, Schultz pushed Starbucks' founders for two years before they let him open a coffee bar at Fourth and Spring in Seattle.
“I banged on the door for two years and in two years they finally let me open up a coffee bar on the corner of fourth and spring in Seattle”
1987
Schultz says Bill Gates Sr. confronted an investor who was trying to buy Starbucks out from under him and told him Schultz would acquire the company.
“And he says, Howard Schultz is going to acquire a Starbucks coffee company, and he's never going to hear from you again.”
1987
Schultz's company bought the six Starbucks stores in August 1987, and the combined business had 11 stores by year-end.
“August of 87, we bought the six Starbucks stores. We had the three old El Dernales, and there were two stores under construction.”
1987
Schultz says sourcing, roasting and serving coffee as a beverage gave Starbucks roughly an 80% gross margin when he bought it.
“The ability to source and roast coffee and put that through the supply chain of a beverage gave us probably at the time an 80% gross margin.”
1990s
Schultz says he and Pepsi's Craig Weatherup agreed a 50-50 joint venture to bottle Frappuccino, which became a multi-billion-dollar business.
“Craig Weatherup and I, on a napkin, I swear, shook hands and created a multi-billion dollar business for Pepsi and Starbucks in a 50-50 JV and bottle of Frappuccino.”
1991
After resistance from two venture-capital board members, Starbucks granted all employees stock options worth 14% of base pay, the Beanstalk program, a year before its IPO.
“And so the fight became, ultimately, we gave 14% of everyone's base pay in the form of stock options at the end of the year based on the strike price.”
1991
Beanstalk in 1991 extended Starbucks stock options to everyone working 20-plus hours a week, covering about 1,300 employees.
“Equity in the form of stock options goes out to everyone working 20-plus hours a week. There were 1,300 employees at the time.”
1992
Schultz says each new Starbucks store was modeled on first-year sales of twice the investment and an operating profit above 20%.
“And the model basically was a sales to investment ratio of two to one and a operating profit of 20%.”
1995
Starbucks passed 500 stores in 1995, around the time it bought Boston's Coffee Connection, which owned the Frappuccino trademark.
“In 1995, you crossed 500 stores. You had just bought the Coffee Connection, as we talked about, in Boston.”
1996
Schultz says Starbucks' Japan launch, a joint venture, was an immediate success and grew to about 2,000 stores.
“Japan was an extraordinary success from minute one. We got 2,000 stores there.”
2008
By Schultz's 2008 return as CEO, Starbucks' market capitalization had fallen from about $30 billion to under $7 billion.
“the market cap had dropped from $30 billion to less than $7 billion.”
2008
After returning as CEO in 2008, Schultz closed about a thousand underperforming Starbucks stores.
“There were a lot of unperforming stores that should have never been opened that we need to close. I think we closed a thousand stores.”
2008
Schultz says Steve Jobs advised him to replace his entire leadership team, and that all but the general counsel eventually left.
“you go back to Seattle and you fire everyone on your leadership team.”
2010
Starbucks' profit rose from $315 million at its 2008 low to $945 million in 2010 during Schultz's turnaround.
“Your low point in 2008 profits were 315 million. And by 2010, they were 945 million.”
2015
Martin-Flickinger joined Starbucks as its first chief technology officer about six years before the interview.
“joined Starbucks a little over six years ago as their first chief technology officer”
2015
Martin-Flickinger said Starbucks's scale of stores worldwide, each a small business, drew her to the company.
“I was intrigued by the scale, and the scale is interesting when you think about Starbucks.”
2015
After joining, Martin-Flickinger spent her first few weeks working in Starbucks stores to learn the business.
“I spent my 1st few weeks in a store learning about how people make lattes.”
2015
About 90 days after joining, Martin-Flickinger renamed Starbucks's IT department Starbucks Technology.
“90 days after I joined, changed the name of IT to Starbucks technology. Never use the word IT again.”
2021
Ray Ma says a Starbucks coffee costs about three to four dollars in China, making it a premium product and a signal of a city's rising consumption.
“Starbucks is about three to four dollars per cup in China, right?”
2022
On returning as interim CEO in 2022, Schultz says he suspended Starbucks' stock buybacks and redirected over $2 billion toward investing in partners.
“I announced that we were suspending the stock buybacks and the stock went down.”
2024
The hosts say about 33% of Starbucks orders are placed through mobile order and pay.
“I think today, 33% of Starbucks orders are done with mobile order and pay.”
2024
The hosts say about $14 billion a year is loaded onto Starbucks gift cards, which they compare to deposits at a top-tier US bank.
“In terms of velocity, about $14 billion a year gets loaded onto gift cards.”
2024
Schultz credits Belinda Wong with building Starbucks' China business, which he says is about 18% of company revenue.
“She single-handedly built the China business. Today, 18% of Starbucks' revenue is China.”
2024
Host Ben Gilbert says Starbucks has about $36 billion in revenue and $4.1 billion in net income, with the employee count cited as 380,000 before Schultz says it is now over 450,000.
“Starbucks does $36 billion in revenue, $4.1 billion in net income. There are 380,000 employees.”
2024
Starbucks operates six Reserve Roasteries, in Seattle, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai and Milan.
“So there are six roasteries starting in Seattle, Chicago, New York, Tokyo, Shanghai, and Milan.”
Undated
Starbucks uses the name Deep Brew for a broad set of AI projects across the company.
“we have a moniker, Deep Brew, which stands for a broad section of AI projects underway across the company.”
Undated
Starbucks uses machine learning models to build store labor schedules, unnoticed by store managers.
“doing models for labor scheduling.”
Undated
Starbucks drive-through digital displays are driven by personalization models using inputs like buying patterns, region, weather and stock.
“when you pull into a drive-through where they have a digital display, those experiences are being driven from models that are based on lots of different inputs.”
Undated
Lattes are made on demand from components such as espresso and milk, which complicates inventory-aware promotion.
“lattes are manufactured in the moment at a store, and they're made of component parts.”
Undated
Martin-Flickinger cited a store in Oklahoma on a dial-up line as an example of Starbucks's infrastructure challenge.
“When you've got a store in the middle of Oklahoma on a dial-up line, that's a whole different thing to manage.”
Undated
The Starbucks Technology tagline is 'talented technologists delivering today, leading into the future'.
“Super simple, talented technologists delivering today, leading into the future Starbucks technology, that's it.”
Undated
Martin-Flickinger said Starbucks operates over 30,000 stores worldwide (the transcript renders this as '30 zero').
“Cause today there's over 30 zero stores around the world”
Undated
A host notes that Starbucks under Howard Schultz was one of the biggest CD retailers in the US, and Ek says he first met Schultz when Starbucks became a Spotify partner.
“And we were talking about it before, but Starbucks and Howard Schultz was actually one of the biggest retailers of CDs in the US.”
Undated
Ben Gilbert estimated he has eaten close to 3,000 Starbucks spinach, feta and egg white wraps.
“I think I've consumed probably close to 3,000 of them”
Undated
Schultz and designer Terry Heckler replaced small, medium and large with the names short, tall and grande for Starbucks cup sizes.
“And we just started talking about changing it from the pedestrian words of small, medium, large to what it became, which was short, tall, and grande.”
Undated
Schultz says selling Starbucks beans in Costco measurably increased traffic at nearby Starbucks stores on Seattle's east side.
“In fact, putting Starbucks in Costco, we were able to measure directly the increase in volume in the stores on the east side as a result of the proximity to the Costco store.”
Undated
Schultz says Starbucks' international partnerships vary by country, from 80-20 splits favoring Starbucks to 50-50 joint ventures.
“Some countries have been an 80-20. Starbucks owns 80. They own 20. Some are 50-50.”
Undated
Schultz says the vacant former post office in Milan's Cordusio Square, which became the Italian roastery site, was owned by Blackstone.
“Turns out the owner of the space is Blackstone.”
Undated
Nick Epley and colleagues paid people with a $10 Starbucks gift card to talk to strangers and found it raised their positive emotion.
“they offer people like $10 Starbucks gift card to just talk to somebody. Um, usually talk to a stranger like that they don't know on the train.”
Episodes