/world business
(CNN) -- Starbucks Coffee Company is the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world, with more than 6,000 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim.
The first Starbucks opened in 1971, in Seattle, Washington.
The name comes from Herman Melville's Moby Dick, a classic American novel about the 19th century whaling industry. The seafaring name seems appropriate for a store that imports the world's finest coffees to the cold, thirsty people of Seattle.
Howard Schultz joined Starbucks in 1982. While on a business trip in Italy, he visited Milan's famous espresso bars and was impressed with their popularity and culture.
In the 1990s the demand for high quality coffee allowed Starbucks to expand beyond Seattle, first to the rest of the U.S., then further afield. After becoming one of the first companies to offer stock options to its part-time employees, Starbucks became a publicly traded company. E-mail to a friend 
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