Will Starbucks ever return to the revenue and profit growth that it once enjoyed? Why or why not?
By now, you should be familiar with the Starbucks story. After a trip to Italy in the early 1980s, Howard Schultz was inspired to transform Starbucks—then just a handful of coffee shops in Seattle—into a chain of European-style coffeehouses. His vision wasn’t based on selling only gourmet coffees, espressos, and lattes, however. He wanted to provide customers with what he called a “third place”— a place away from home and work. As CEO of Starbucks, Schultz developed what became known as the Starbucks Experience, built around great coffee, personal service, and an inviting ambiance