McDonalds Starbucks
* 1937: Brothers Dick and Mac McDonald open a hot 1971
dog stand called the Airdrome in Arcadia, California. Starbucks opens first store in Seattle’s Pike Place
Market.
* 1940: The brothers move the Airdrome building to 1982
San Bernardino, California, where they open the first Howard Schultz joins Starbucks as director of retail
McDonald's restaurant, on U.S. Route 66, at 14th and operations and
E St., on May 15. Its menu consists of 25 items, marketing. Starbucks begins providing coffee to fine
mostly barbecue. As was common at the time, they restaurants and
employed around 20 carhops. It became a popular espresso bars.
and highly profitable teen hangout. 1983
Howard travels to Italy, where he’s impressed with
* 1948: After noting that almost all of their profits the popularity
came from hamburgers, the brothers closed the of espresso bars in Milan. He sees the potential to
restaurant for several months to implement their develop a similar
innovative "Speedee Service System", a streamlined coffeehouse culture in Seattle.
assembly line for hamburgers. The carhops are fired, 1984
and when the restaurant reopens it sells only Howard convinces the founders of Starbucks to test
hamburgers, milkshakes, and french fries. At 15 the
cents, the burgers are about half as expensive as at coffeehouse concept in downtown Seattle, where the
standard diners, and they are served immediately. first
The restaurant was extremely successful, and its fame Starbucks® Caffè Latte is served. This successful
spread by word of mouth. experiment is the
genesis for a company that Schultz founds in 1985.
* 1953: The McDonald brothers begin to franchise 1985
their restaurant, with Neil Fox the first franchisee. Howard founds Il Giornale, offering brewed coffee
The second McDonald's opens in Phoenix, Arizona. and espresso
It was the first to feature the Golden Arches design; beverages made from Starbucks® coffee beans.
later that year the original restaurant was rebuilt in 1987
the same style. Il Giornale acquires Starbucks assets with the
backing of local
* 1953: Third McDonald's restaurant opened in investors and changes its name to Starbucks
Saginaw, Michigan at the corner of State Street and Corporation. Opens in
Center Road, it was rebuilt in 2006 but has stayed at Chicago and Vancouver, Canada.
that location since opening. Total stores*: 17
1988
* 1953: Fourth McDonald's restaurant opens, in Offers full health benefits to eligible full- and part-
Downey, California at the corner of Lakewood and time employees.
Florence Avenue, and is the oldest McDonald's Total stores: 33
restaurant still in operation.[citation needed] 1989
Total stores: 55
* 1954: Entrepreneur and milkshake-mixer salesman 1990
Ray Kroc becomes fascinated by the McDonald's Starbucks expands headquarters in Seattle.
restaurant during a sales visit, when he learns of its Total stores: 84
extraordinary capacity and popularity. Others who 1991
had visited the restaurant and come away inspired Becomes the first privately owned U.S. company to
were James McLamore, founder of Burger King, and offer a stock
Glen Bell, founder of Taco Bell. After seeing the option program that includes part-time employees.
restaurant in operation, Kroc approaches the Opens first licensed airport store at Seattle’s Sea-Tac
McDonald brothers, who have already begun International
franchising, with a proposition to let him franchise Airport.
McDonald's restaurants outside the company's Total stores: 116
homebase of California and Arizona, with himself as 1992
the first franchisee. Kroc works hard to sell Completes initial public offering (IPO), with
McDonald's. He even attempts to prevail on his common stock being
wartime acquaintance with Walt Disney, in the failed traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the
hope of opening a McDonald's at the soon-to-be- trading symbol
opened Disneyland. “SBUX.”
Total stores: 165
* 1955: Ray Kroc founds "McDonald's Systems, 1993
Inc." on March 2, as a legal structure for his planned Opens roasting plant in Kent, Wash.
franchises. Kroc opens the ninth McDonald's Announces first two-for-one stock split.
restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, in suburban Total stores: 272
Chicago on April 15. The first day's revenues are 1994
$366.12. The company's literature usually refers to Total stores: 425
this date as the "beginning" of the company, then 1995
already 15 years old, writing the McDonald brothers Begins serving Frappuccino® blended beverages.
out of its history in favor of "Founder" Kroc. The Introduces Starbucks® super-premium ice cream.
company still refers to this restaurant as "McDonald's Announces second two-for-one stock split.
#1". In July, Ray Kroc opens his second McDonald's Opens roasting facility in York, Pa.
restaurant in Fresno, California, operated by Art Total stores: 677
Bender, Kroc's first subfranchisee. The Fresno site is 1996
referred to as "first McDonald's restaurant franchised Begins selling bottled Frappuccino® coffee drink
by Ray Kroc" on a plaque on the site, which has been through North
rebuilt to resemble the 1950s-style restaurants. American Coffee Partnership (Starbucks and Pepsi-
Cola North
* 1955: Ray Kroc hires Harry J. Sonneborn as his America).
WalMart
1962
First Wal-Mart opens in Rogers, Ark.
1975
With more than 125 stores and $340.3 million in
sales, Wal-Mart leases anIBM 370/135 computer
system to maintain inventory control for all
merchandise in the warehouse and distribution
centers and to prepare income statements for each
store.
1977
Wal-Mart builds a companywide computer network
and deploys a system for ordering merchandise from
suppliers.
1979
Wal-Mart sales top $1.2 billion, making it the first
company to reach more than $1 billion in sales in a
mere 17 years. The company builds a computer
center and installs the first terminal in a store: an
IBM 3774.
1983
The company begins to use bar codes for scanning
POS data.
1984
Store associates start using Texlon handheld
terminals when reordering merchandise. Upon
scanning a shelf label, the unit provides a description
of the merchandise, information on prior quantities
ordered and other data.
Bob Martin is named CIO.
1985
Wal-Mart has 882 stores and sales of $8.4 billion.
1987
Wal-Mart completes what is at the time the largest
private satellite communication system in the United
States. It links all operating units of company and
headquarters with two-way voice, data and one-way
video communication.
A check-in system designed to take full advantage of
container bar-code labeling is in the back room of
every Wal-Mart store.
1990
A data warehouse prototype is created to store
historical sales data.
1992
Wal-Mart deploys the Retail Link system to
strengthen supplier partnerships. The system provides
vendors information on sale trends and inventory
levels.
1993
Randy Mott becomes CIO.
1995
Wal-Mart has stores in 50 states, for a total of 1,995
Wal-Mart stores, 239 Supercenters, 433 Sam's Clubs
and 276 international stores. Sales top $93.6 billion.
1996
Wal-Mart makes Retail Link and EDI available via
the Internet and begins using the Internet as an
Chief Financial Officer. Sonneborn remained a key Opens stores in: Japan (first store outside of North
influence in the McDonald's corporation till his America) and application platform.
resignation in 1967. Singapore. Wal-Mart and Sam's Club launch online stores.
Total stores: 1,015
* 1955: Ray Kroc hires Fred Turner (later CEO and 2000
Chairman) as a grillman in his store in Des Plaines. 1997
Kevin Turner becomes CIO.
Establishes The Starbucks Foundation, benefiting
* 1958: McDonalds worldwide sold its 100 millionth local literacy 2002
hamburger. programs in communities where Starbucks has
coffeehouses. Wal-Mart chooses the Internet for data exchange with
* 1959: The 100th McDonalds restauant opens in Opens stores in: the Philippines. thousands of its global suppliers.
Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin. Total stores: 1,412 Linda Dillman becomes CIO.
1998
* 1959: McDonalds begins billboard advertising. Acquires Tazo, a tea company based in Portland, Wal-Mart has its biggest single-day sales in history:
Oregon $1.43 billion on the day after Thanksgiving.
* 1960: Kroc's company is renamed "McDonald's Forms Urban Coffee Opportunities, a joint venture
2004
Corporation". with Earvin
“Magic” Johnson’s Johnson Development Corp., to Wal-Mart announces it will deploy radio frequency
* 1961: The McDonald brothers agree to sell Kroc develop identification (RFID) technology on Jan. 1, 2005.
business rights to their operation for $2.7 million, a Starbucks stores in diverse, urban and suburban
sum that Kroc borrows from a number of investors, communities. 2006
including Princeton University; Kroc considers the Extends the Starbucks brand into grocery channels Rollin Ford is named CIO.
sum extreme, and it strains his relationship with the across the U.S.
brothers. In a handshake agreement, the brothers through licensing agreement with Kraft Foods, Inc. Wal-Mart redesigns Walmart.com, starts
would also receive an overriding royalty of 1% on the Launches Starbucks.com. experimenting with Web 2.0 and social networking
gross sales. At the closing table the brothers told Ray Opens stores in: Malaysia, New Zealand, Taiwan, tools, and contracts with Oracle and Hewlett-
that they were giving the real estate and rights to the Thailand and U.K. Packard to use their price-optimization and BI retail
original unit to the founding employees. Ray closed Total stores: 1,886 applications.
the transaction, then refused to acknowledge the 1999
royalty portion of the agreement because it wasn't in Partners with Conservation International to promote The company ends the year with $349 billion in
writing. The brothers keep their original restaurant, sustainable sales, nearly 2 million employees and 6,775 stores
but in an oversight they fail to retain the right to coffee-growing practices. worldwide.
remain a McDonald's franchise. Renamed "The Big Acquires Hear Music, a San Francisco–based music 2007
M", Kroc drives it out of business by opening a company.
McDonald's just one block north; he attends the Announces third two-for-one stock split. Wal-Mart launches Site to Store service, enabling
opening. Had the brothers maintained their original Opens stores in: China, Kuwait, Lebanon and South online customers to pick up merchandise in stores.
agreement, which granted them 0.5% of the chain's Korea.
SOURCES: Academy of Information & Management
annual revenues, they or their heirs would have been Total stores: 2,498
Sciences Journal, 2006; CIO reporting; Walmart.com
collecting in excess of $100 million per year today. 2000
Had the brothers closed their handshake agreement Howard Schultz transitions from chairman and chief
with Ray, these royalties would have doubled. executive
officer to chairman and chief global strategist.
* 1961: Hamburger University opens in the basement Orin Smith promoted to president and chief executive
of the Elk Grove Village, Illinois, McDonald's officer.
restaurant Bachelor of Hamburgology degrees went Introduces coffee category that includes shade grown,
to graduating class of 15. organic and
Fair Trade Certified™ selections.
* 1962: McDonalds first national magazine ad Establishes licensing agreement with TransFair USA
appears in Life magazine. to sell Fair
Trade Certified™ coffee in U.S. and Canada.
* 1962: The first McDonalds restaurant with seating Opens stores in: Australia, Bahrain, Hong Kong,
opens in Denver, Colorado. Qatar, Saudi Arabia
and United Arab Emirates.
* 1963: One of Kroc's marketing insights is his Total stores: 3,501
decision to advertise McDonald's hamburgers to 2001
families and children. Washington, D.C. franchisees Introduces ethical coffee-sourcing guidelines
John Gibson and Oscar Goldstein (Gee Gee developed in
Distributing Corporation) sponsor a children's show partnership with Conservation International.
on WRC-TV called Bozo the Clown, a franchised Introduces the Starbucks Card, an innovative stored-
character played by Willard Scott from 1959 until value card for
1962. After the show was cancelled, Goldstein hires customers to use and reload.
Scott to portray McDonald's new mascot, named Announces fourth two-for-one stock split.
Ronald McDonald. According to Scott, they wanted Opens stores in: Austria and Switzerland.
to pay him in stock, but Scott decided to take the Total stores: 4,709
money. Scott, looking nothing like the familiar 2002
appearance of any McDonaldland character as is Starbucks enters into licensing agreements with
known today, appeared in the first three television national Fair
advertisements featuring the character. After Trade organizations to sell Fair Trade Certified™
changing the character's first name to "Ronald" and coffee in the
replacing Scott with a new actor, and giving him the countries where Starbucks does business.
more familiar red, white, and yellow clown features, Establishes Starbucks Coffee Trading Company
the character eventually spreads to the rest of the (SCTC) in
country via an advertising campaign. Years later, an Lausanne, Switzerland.
entire cast of "McDonaldland" characters is Opens stores in: Germany, Greece, Indonesia,
developed. Mexico Oman, Puerto
Rico and Spain.
* 1963: The Filet-O-Fish is introduced in Cincinnati, Total stores: 5,886
Ohio, in a restaurant located in a neighborhood 2003
dominated by Roman Catholics who practiced Acquires Seattle Coffee Company, which includes
abstinence (the avoidance of meat) on Fridays. It is Seattle’s Best
the first new addition to the original menu, and goes Coffee and Torrefazione Italia coffee brands.
national the following year, with fish supplied by Opens new state-of-the-art roasting facilities in
Gorton's of Gloucester. See also Lou Groen Carson Valley, Nev.,
and Amsterdam, Netherlands.
* 1963: McDonalds sells its one billionth hamburger. Opens stores in: Chile, Cyprus, Peru and Turkey.
Total stores: 7,225
* 1963: The 500th Mcdonalds restaurant opens in 2004
Toledo, Ohio. Opens first Starbucks Farmer Support Center in San
Jose, Costa
* 1968: The Big Mac (similar to the Big Boy Rica.
hamburger), the brainchild of Jim Delligatti, one of Releases Ray Charles, Genius Loves Company CD
Ray Kroc's earliest franchisees, who by the late 1960s through a
operated a dozen stores in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania is collaboration between Concord Records and
first introduced in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Starbucks Hear Music.
market in 1967, before going system/nationwide a Introduces Starbucks Coffee Master Program.
year later, following its great local success. The Hot Opens stores in: France.
Apple Pie is also introduced this year. Total stores: 8,569

* 1968: The 1000th McDonalds restauant opens in 2005

Des Plaines, Illinois. Orin Smith retires as Starbucks president and chief
executive
* 1970: McDonald's opens in Costa Rica, its third officer.
country after the United States and Canada, and its Jim Donald promoted to president and chief
first restaurant in Latin America. executive officer.
Acquires Ethos Water and sets a goal of donating $10
* 1970: Having changed hands in 1968, the original million to
"Big M" restaurant closes. It is demolished two years support clean water projects over the next five years.
later, with only part of the sign remaining; this has Announces fifth two-for-one stock split.
since been restored. Opens stores in: Bahamas, Ireland and Jordan.
Total stores: 10,241
* 1971: The first Asian McDonald's opens in July in 2006
Japan, in Tokyo's Ginza district. Launches the industry’s first paper beverage cup
containing postconsumer recycled fiber, saving more
* 1971: On August 21, the first European than 75,000 trees each year.
McDonald's outlet opens, in Zaandam (near Opens stores in: Brazil and Egypt.
Amsterdam) in the Netherlands. The franchisee is Total stores: 12,440
Ahold. 2007
Eliminates all artificial trans fat and makes 2 percent
* 1971: The first McDonald's in Germany (Munich) milk the
opens in December. It is the first McDonald's to sell new standard for espresso beverages in all U.S. stores
alcohol, as it offers beer. Other European countries as part of
follow in the early 1970s. commitment to health and wellness.
Opens stores in: Romania and Russia.
* 1971: The first Australian McDonald's opens in the Total stores: 15,011
Sydney suburb of Yagoona in December. 2008
Chairman Howard Schultz returns as chief executive
* 1971: The first McDonalds Playland opens in officer.
Chula Vista, California. Announces a renewed focus on customer experience
and
* 2005: Owing in part to competitive pressure, innovation.
McDonald's Australia adopts "Made for you" Acquires Coffee Equipment Company and its
cooking platform in which the food is prepared from Clover® brewing
pre-cooked meat after the customer orders (as system.
opposed to the firm's normal procedure since 1948, in Launches MyStarbucksIdea.com, Starbucks first
which the food is cooked then sold as needed). It online community.
should become standard practice in all Australian Announces Starbucks™ Shared Planet™, the
restaurants by 2007. Some restaurants in New company’s longterm commitment to conducting
Zealand also follow suit. The practice had earlier business responsibly. Expands
been tested, and abandoned, in the U.S. partnership with Conservation International for work
on ethical
* 2005: McDonald's in Singapore began their sourcing and climate change.
McDelivery service: customers place their food Launches Pike Place Roast™, a signature coffee that
orders over the phone, and it is delivered to wherever is freshly
they are. The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 roasted, freshly ground and freshly brewed every day
days a week. (Pike Place is a
trademark of the Pike Place Market PDA, used under
* 2005: McDonald's opens a Wi-Fi service in license).
selected restaurants with Nintendo for Nintendo DS. Announces focus for entertainment business on
digital strategy
* 2005: A fired employee, who was terminated for and core content with music and books. Turns over
hitting a female customer, murdered his former day-to-day
manager at a McDonald's outlet in West Sussex, management of the Hear Music Record Label to
England. Shane Freer stabbed Jackie Marshall (57) to Concord Music
death during a children's party at the fast food Group.
restaurant she was supervising. Freer was convicted Opens stores in: Argentina, Bulgaria, Czech Republic
and sentenced to life in prison by Lewes Crown and Portugal.
Court.[7]
* 2005: Ronald McDonald gets a leaner, sportier
look.
* 2006: McDonald's announces that it will include
nutritional information on the packaging for all
products beginning in March[8] and that its
upcoming menu changes will emphasize chicken,
salads, and other "fresh foods" rather than
hamburgers[9].
* 2006: McDonald's begins their "forever young"
branding by redesigning their restaurants.
* 2007: McDonald's Australia introduce Pasta Zoo
happy meals in an attempt to introduce a healthier
choice for children.
* 2007: McDonald's Australia introduces Heart Tick
approved meals to enforce its healthier image.
* 2007: McDonald's Australia cancels plans for the
"My Dinner Now" campaign due to a lack of backing
by McDonalds Licencee's and corporate members
* 2007: McDonald's reintroduces its 42-ounce super-
size soda under the name Hugo.
* 2007: McDonald's Australia Introduces the
"Backyard Burger" into its menu
Total stores: 16,680
2009
Launches Starbucks VIA™ Ready Brew Coffee.
Becomes the world’s largest buyer of Fair Trade
Certified™ coffee.
Revamps food offerings. Food items made without
artificial flavors,
artificial transfats, artificial dyes and high-fructose
corn syrup.
Opens second Starbucks Farmer Support Center in
Kigali, Rwanda.
Starbucks helps save lives in Africa through our
partnership with
(RED)™. Millions of daily purchases of
(STARBUCKS)RED products
have generated contributions equal to more than 7
million daily doses of antiretroviral medicine..
Starbucks the most engaged brand in social media
according to ENGAGEMENT db Report. Launches
myStarbucks and Starbucks Card iPhone apps.
Opens stores in: Poland and Aruba.
Total stores: 16,635