Starbucks CEO Schultz talks past, future

Warm-up: What do you know about Starbucks? What service do they provide?

1. Read the text quickly and gather information about Starbucks activities.



2. Find information in the text to complete this chart about Starbucks history:

Early 1980s
1992
2011 2012
End of 2011
In 40 years time

3. Cover the text. How many of these questions can you answer correctly?

a. Was Starbucks founded in Italy?
b. Have they changed American culture?
c. What innovation did they introduce when the company was founded?
d. How many innovations have they introduced in the past 18 months?
e. Why were people upset when Starbucks changed the colour of the wall of one of their
stores?
f. Is Mr Schultz upset when customers leave negative comments about his stores on Twitter?
g. Why is it important that people make comments about the stores?
h. What is Mr Schultz proud of regarding Starbucks corporate conscience?
i. How can this experience help people in the USA too?
j. Does he think that business is only about making money?

4. Vocabulary Match the following words to their definitions

a. bold
b. wrinkle
c. EGifting
d. relevant
e. core
f. to enable
g. footprint
h. retail store
i. world-class
j. besides
k. reward
l. upset
m. feed
n. corporate
o. to link
p. to retire
q. micro loan
r. divide
s. the haves and have-nots
t. leading
u. lending
v. achievement
w. balance
x. profitability
y. the former / the latter
z. unsustainable




1. related to a particular company
2. unhappy
3. performance
4. a mark left by a foot on the ground
5. a mark on your face due to ageing
6. a state of equilibrium
7. not viable in the long run
8. principal
9. microcredit
10. information constantly updated on
a social network website
11. to stop working when you are 60 or
65
12. gap
13. prestigious, well-known worldwide
14. adapted, to the point
15. yielding profits
16. the first mentioned / the second
mentioned
17. connect
18. the rich and the poor
19. in addition to
20. ready to take risks
21. top
22. a return for your loyalty
23. to permit
24. a shop selling to individuals
25. giving money while expecting it to
be repaid with interests
26. the possibility to offer a gift online