Starbucks Corporation is a multinational chain of coffee shops and coffee shops based in the United States. Starbucks is the world's largest coffeehouse company, with 8,505 company-owned and 6,506 licensed stores in 42 countries, for a total of 15,011 stores worldwide. Starbucks sells drip-brewed coffee, hot espresso drinks, other hot and cold drinks, snacks, and items such as cups and coffee beans. Through its Starbucks Entertainment division and its Hear Music brand, the company also markets books, music and films. Many of these products are seasonal or specific to the location of the store. Starbucks brand ice cream and coffee are also sold in grocery stores. Since its founding in Seattle, Washington, by Gordon Bowker, Jerry Baldwin and Zev Siegl as a local coffee bean roaster and retailer, Starbucks has grown rapidly. By the 1990s, the company was opening a new store every business day, a pace that continued into the 2000s. Domestic growth has since slowed, although the company continues to expand into foreign markets and opens 7 stores per day around the world. The first location outside the United States and Canada was established in 1996 and now makes up nearly a third of Starbucks stores. As of November 2007, Starbucks had 8,505 company-owned locations worldwide: 6,793 of them in the United States and 1,712 of them in the United States. other countries and US territories. Additionally, the company has 6,506 joint venture and licensed retail locations, including 3,891 in the United States and 2,615 in other U.S. countries and territories. This brings the total number of sites (as of November 2007) to 15,011 worldwide. Starbucks is found in many popular grocery chains in the United States and Canada, as well as many airports. You may be wondering what contributed to the success of this business. The answer is simple; Starbucks understands the importance of building the brand. In my opinion, most people think that the only key to success in building a brand is having an awesome marketing strategy combined with a great advertising campaign with massive appeal to global markets. While I believe all of this to be true, I also understand the importance of research in relation to starting any business. What's the point of carrying a product if it doesn't move on the shelves, so to speak, or if it doesn't meet your customers' expectations because it lacks quality. This only hurts the product brand, which means lower sales for your business..