It all started in Seattle, in 1971, with three partners: English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegel and writer Gordon Bowker, founded the first Starbucks coffee shop on 2000 Western Avenue, as a coffee bean shop for machines. The name comes from the novel Moby-Dick (the whale), specifically that was how Captain Ahab's ship was originally called.

In 1986, businessman Howard Schultz bought Starbucks coffee shops, converted them into cafeterias, and a year later began opening branches outside of Seattle and in other states around the country.

The first Starbucks outside the United States opened its doors in the city of Tokyo in 1996, and since then there has been a massive expansion of the business, so that today there are more than fourteen thousand Starbucks cafes around the world, distributed in more than fifty countries on five continents.

MISSION: In 2008 the company adopted a new mission statement: “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup and one neighborhood at a time.” (Starbucks, 2021)

VALUES (Starbucks, 2021): With our partners, our coffee and our customers at our core, we live these values:  Creating a culture of warmth and belonging, where everyone is welcome.  Acting with courage, challenging the status quo and finding new ways to grow our company and each other.  Being present, connecting with transparency, dignity and respect.  Delivering our very best in all we do, holding ourselves accountable for results.  We are performance driven, through the lens of humanity.

LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION STRATEGY:

 From 1990-1995 the first great growth and expansion of the company took place in the United States, with an average ratio of store openings of 52% per year.

 From 1996-2001 the company's first international expansion took place, focusing on Asia (Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong), the Middle East (Kuwait, Lebanon, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates), Australia and New Zealand, with an average store opening ratio of 38% per year.

 From 2002-2008 the second international expansion of the company took place, focusing on Latin America (Mexico, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru) and Europe (Germany, Greece, Spain, Cyprus, France, Ireland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Romania, Russia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Portugal), with an average store opening ratio of 20% per year.

 From 2008 to 2011 the growth of the number of stores came to a sharp halt, partly due to the great global economic crisis. During this period the company's international expansion slowed down and the company focused on the launch of new products and services (Starbucks VIA® Instant, My Starbucks Rewards® loyalty program, Starbucks Card mobile payment, free unlimited Wi-Fi, Starbucks Digital Network, etc.), as well as the opening of new support centers for coffee producers (Rwanda)

DURING CRISIS PERIODS (GLOBAL RECESSION 2008-2011 AND PANDEMIC 2020-2021)

In the online business magazine Restaurant Business, journalist Jonathan Maze wrote “As its sales started taking a big hit in 2008 from what was then the worst U.S. recession in 80 years, Starbucks began closing locations. It closed 650 global locations that year. It closed another 300 the year after”. (Restaurant Business, 2020)

About the current pandemic situation, the same journalist expressed that “It’d be easy to say it’s worse now. After all, same-store sales were expected to decline as much as 19% in the U.S. last month and 17% for this fiscal year. The worst quarterly result back in 2008 was a decline of 10%.” (Restaurant Business, 2020)

After the COVID-19 first wave in the U.S. CFO Patrick Grismer said “Today we have an industry-leading digital platform and a rewards program that didn’t exist back in 2008, 2009, that’s an important part of our competitive advantage and gives us more resilience today compared to 10 years ago.” (Restaurant Business, 2020)

PORTAVENTURA WORLD: MORE THAT JUST A THEME PARK

Port Aventura Park was inaugurated in 1995, between the municipalities of Salou and Vila-seca (Tarragona), and it became the first theme park in Spain. Today, PortAventura is one of the main European resorts, a destination for family and business leisure and offers a wide complementary offer to the theme park.

With 5.2 million visitors during 2019. it is one of the main attractions of the Costa Dorada (Spain). PortAventura Park was the most visited theme park in Spain and the sixth in Europe during 2017.

In the company’s Annual Corporate Responsibility Report from 2012, is stablished its Vision, Mission and Values as follows: (Port Aventura, 2012)

 VISION: “To be the best destination for family, business and residential leisure in Europe”.

 MISSION: “Create and offer our clients and residents unique and varied experiences, in a natural, privileged and exclusive environment, with a unique and socially responsible vision”.

 VALUES: “Commitment, quality, team spirit, passion for the client”.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE COMPANY

During its first 15 years, PortAventura World focused on increasing the offer within the theme park, including new attractions/rides practically every year.

Likewise, it continues with the strategy of providing the client with a comprehensive experience, which is why it opened several hotels, a convention center and several golf courses.

Also, its commitment to the environment is clearly reflected in the effort to obtain various environmental management certifications such as the EMAS distinction (European in nature), both for the amusement park and its hotels. This aspect is undoubtedly a very important aspect of your business strategy.

THE LATEST MEMBER OF THE TEAM

In 2016, the company started to build the new resort dedicated to the Ferrari brand, as well as the Ferrari World Abu Dhabi in Abu Dhabi, which is called Ferrari Land. It is located within the Port Aventura World resort, occupies an area of 6 hectares and was inaugurated on April 7, 2017. The main attractions are:

 Red Force: One of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in Europe, with 112 meters high, 180km / h of maximum speed and 880 meters of travel.

 Thrill Towers - two 55 meter high drop towers, which unlike Hurakan Condor, gondolas drop and rise at high speed. They are based on the movement of the pistons of an engine. One is a controlled fall tower and the other is a free fall tower.

 Maranello Grand Race - A 550 meter family racing circuit.

 Flying Dreams: flying theater.

 Racing Legends: omnimax simulator

 Junior Red Force: Children's version of the park's star attraction, Red Force.

According to the Port Aventura World press release, the total initial investment of the project is around 100 million euros.

Questions

3. How do you consider that both companies include the concepts of business ethics and corporate social responsibility in their projects? Support your answer by citing some examples.

4. What are the main stakeholders for the projects carried out by each company?