Howard Schultz Starbucks Quotes

#1. We woke up one day, and all the sudden Starbucks was in the middle of this political crossfire between the people who want to bring a gun into Starbucks and the people who want to prevent it. It is a very difficult, fragile situation.

Howard Schultz

#2. If Vancouver did not succeed as Starbucks from '87 on, our entire international business, which is now thousands of stores and a significant amount of growth and profit, may not have existed.

Howard Schultz

#3. There's this myth that has been exacerbated by others that Starbucks means a $4 cup of coffee, which is not true.

Howard Schultz

#4. At Starbucks 0 as in any business, in any life - there are so many hectic moments during the day when we are simply trying to do the job, trying to put out the fires, trying to solve any number of small problems, that we often lose sight of what it is we're really here to do.

Howard Schultz

#5. I honestly never dreamed at the time that I would one day own the Starbucks and or be in a position where we would have more than 10,000 stores around the world. It has just been an incredible journey for all of us.

Howard Schultz

#6. A founder's perspective is unique.

Entrepreneurs are builders, and the lens through which I view Starbucks and the marketplace is somewhat different from what it would be if I were a professionally schooled manager.

Howard Schultz

#7. When we began Starbucks, what I wanted to try to do was to create a set of values, guiding principles, and culture.

Howard Schultz

#8. Starbucks has stores in America in many, many communities that are governed by many, many different municipalities. Starbucks cannot dictate to a municipality in Cincinnati or Kansas City or Sacramento how or why or when there should be a recycling program.

Howard Schultz

#9. I am concerned about any attrition in customer traffic at Starbucks, but I don't want to use the economy, commodity prices or consumer confidence as an excuse. We must maintain a value proposition to our customers as well as differentiate the Starbucks Experience. That is the key.

Howard Schultz

#10. Starbucks is rekindling America's love affair with coffee, bringing romance and fresh flavor back to the brew.

Howard Schultz

#11. Starbucks is committed to evolving and enhancing our customer experience with innovative and wholesome food offerings.

Howard Schultz

#12. London, a city where creativity and innovation have always flourished, provides a significant home for Starbucks and a significant gateway into Europe.

Howard Schultz

#13. Starbucks has a role and a meaningful relationship with people that is not only about the coffee.

Howard Schultz

#14. I think people will walk into the Starbucks store and overnight recognize the significant difference between what Starbucks represents day-in and day-out and all the other coffee companies that have been serving coffee in India for so many years.

Howard Schultz

#15. The success of the Starbucks has been based on this balance between profitability and a social conscience. Everywhere we're doing business, were trying to manage the business through the lens of humanity.

Howard Schultz

#16. Starbucks being an extension of peoples home and work. The sense of community, human connection. That appears to be as relevant in Turkey, China, Japan and Spain as it is here in America. And Starbucks I think is creating something for people all over the world that has not existed before.

Howard Schultz

#17. We need to reinvent food at Starbucks. Less could be more.

Howard Schultz

#18. When it comes to Starbucks, I take every threat very personally.

Howard Schultz

#19. Starbucks is in my blood. It is such a part of me that letting it unravel simply was not an option.

Howard Schultz

#20. Starbucks was under attack, mostly from within.

Howard Schultz

#21. Certainly the caffeine in coffee, whether it's Starbucks or generic coffee, is somewhat of a stimulant. But if you drink it in moderation, which I think four or five cups a day is, you're fine.

Howard Schultz

#22. Starbucks is not an advertiser; people think we are a great marketing company, but in fact we spend very little money on marketing and more money on training our people than advertising.

Howard Schultz

#23. Starbucks has always been about so much more than coffee. But without great coffee, we have no reason to exist.

Howard Schultz

#24. Starbucks has changed the rules of engagement for the music industry.

Howard Schultz

#25. For Starbucks, there will be no shortage of the highest-quality arabica beans. I suspect that for some others there could potentially be a problem, not in the near term, but over time.

Howard Schultz

#26. Without fanfare, Starbucks was also going to open two coffee shops in Seattle that were not like any of our existing stores. Each would serve Starbucks coffee but be unique

Howard Schultz

#27. While we are a coffee company at heart, Starbucks provides much more than the best cup of coffee - we offer a community gathering place where people come together to connect and discover new things.

Howard Schultz

#28. I think Starbucks created a platform and, ultimately, a runway for many other companies to emulate. I suspect if we had not achieved what we have, there would have been many regional brands that would have succeeded. But I'm not sure there would have been a national brand of the scope of Starbucks.

Howard Schultz

#29. We need to put ourselves in the shoes of our customers. That is my new battle cry. Live and breathe Starbucks the way our customers do.

Howard Schultz

#30. Do I take criticism of Starbucks personally? Of course I do.

Howard Schultz

#31. Post-9/11, we saw an immediate uptick in the amount of people in our stores, all over the country. People wanted that human connection. We are not going to fracture the Starbucks experience.

Howard Schultz

#32. Starbucks represents something beyond a cup of coffee.

Howard Schultz

#33. Our history is based on extending the brand to categories within the guardrails of Starbucks.

Howard Schultz

#34. We think of Starbucks not as a coffee company but a media company.

Howard Schultz

#35. In many places where coffee is grown, deforestation is a major issue. With Starbucks' position in the marketplace and the respect and relationships we have, we can - and have, in some cases - been able to educate and influence people.

Howard Schultz

#36. Overnight the digital age had changed the course of history for our company. Everything that we thought was in our control no longer was. But within a year we had invested in social media and digital experts. Now Starbucks is the number one brand on Facebook.

Howard Schultz

#37. The response to the Starbucks brand has been phenomenal in our international markets.

Howard Schultz

#38. People around the world, they want the authentic Starbucks experience.

Howard Schultz

#39. More than anything else, technology will pave the way for innovative change at Starbucks. The bulk of Starbucks' innovation over the next several years will be technology-focused.

Howard Schultz

#40. Starbucks trying to build a different kind of company around the balance of profitably and benevolence. A social conscience. And that isn't a program it has to be a way of life.

Howard Schultz

#41. I could've just walked away but I never could have forgiven myself to allow Starbucks to drift into mediocrity or not be relevant. I just couldn't be a bystander.

Howard Schultz

#42. The Starbucks customer and the Teavana customer are two very different customers, two different need states that are highly complimentary.

Howard Schultz

#43. California, in a sense, is almost Starbucks' largest country, with almost 3,000 stores.

Howard Schultz

#44. With a population of more than 600 million people, an emerging middle class that is driving strong consumption, and a robust and resilient economy, Southeast Asia presents a compelling growth opportunity for Starbucks.

Howard Schultz

#45. So when some refer to Starbucks' coffee as an affordable luxury, I think to myself, Maybe so. But more accurate, I like to think, is that the starbucks experience - personal connection- is an affordable necessity. We are all hungry for community.

Howard Schultz

#46. We sell tea in Starbucks, but I think the experience is very different. I think coffee is something that is quick - it's transactional. I think tea is more Zen-like. It requires a different environment.

Howard Schultz

#47. My son is trying to be a sports writer, and my daughter is a college student. She wants to be a comedy writer, and she's at film school. I discouraged both of them early on from getting involved in Starbucks. I didn't think it would be fair; plus, they didn't have any interest anyway.

Howard Schultz