Starbucks opened its first store in Seattle, Washington in 1971. Since then, the company has become so engrained in the city’s culture and identity that many have begun to refer to the city as Starbucks Seattle. Indeed, with one of the highest density per block of outlets in the world, the moniker Starbucks Seattle has some merit.
However, not everyone is pleased about the phenomenon of Starbucks Seattle or the rapid global growth of the company, leading the charge in the process of globalization. That was never more evident as it was in November, 1999, when Starbucks Seattle played host to the ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization. Here, major governments of roughly 140 countries came to meet to discuss various crucial trading rules that govern the global system.
Before any meetings even got under way, demonstrations throughout Starbucks Seattle began to be held. And, it wasn’t just the WTO that was under attack; it was Starbucks itself. The company that had lent itself to the name Starbucks Seattle and that had come to be so identified with the city itself, Starbucks found itself at the forefront of protests in the debate surrounding globalization and cultural imperialism.
In one single day, protestors took out their anger in what they saw as the global corporate takeover on nine Starbucks stores throughout Starbucks Seattle. They broke windows, put glue in locks, and spray-painted the walls of the stores with an encircled ‘A’, a symbol for anarchy.
On that day, Starbucks Seattle was under attack. Both the company and the city that had fostered its growth found themselves at the forefront of a targeted campaign by protestors against the phenomenon of globalization and its argued negative effects on workers, the environment and the poor.
In 2002, Starbucks Seattle again found itself on shaky ground, or rather Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz found himself at odds with the people of his hometown. As the main owner of the Sonics, the city’s professional basketball team, Schultz was proud of his team and became one of the most visible cheerleaders. However, when Schultz began to complain that his team should be receiving subsidies from the city Seattleites then began to turn on him. When the Sonics were later sold to a group from Oklahoma, the city no longer knew if it wanted to be called Starbucks Seattle.
Despite the criticism that the company has come under, its presence in the city has remained formidable. Today, Starbucks Seattle continues to represent wealth and espouse the ideals of free market enterprise. Indeed, two of the world’s most famous billionaires, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, continue to call Starbucks Seattle their home.
Some observers prefer to label the phenomenon ‘Latte Land’ instead of Starbucks Seattle. However, either title points to the tremendous impact the company has had on the city. Indeed, with less than 20 percent of the number of residents of Phoenix but at least twice as many Starbucks coffee shops, there can be no doubt that the company remains ingrained in the city’s identity.
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