February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
“We are excited about the opportunities for Starbucks in the Republic of Ireland, but currently have no announcements to make regarding the market,” a spokesperson told the newspaper.
Starbucks is often regarded as the McDonalds of the coffee world, in part because of its pattern of ambitious expansion. The company was founded in 1971 with a single store in Seattle. Its growth rate did not pick up in earnest until 11 years later, when Howard Schultz, who would eventually become chairman and CEO, joined as director of retail operations and marketing. By 1990, there were 84 Starbucks outlets worldwide. By the start of this year, it occupied 8,337 locations.
There are Starbucks at the Irish headquarters of Royal Bank of Scotland and at Microsoft’s Dublin facility, but both premises are run under license. Starbucks entered the UK market in 1998. It now has more than 275 shops in Britain.