Founded in 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company is the world's leading retailer, roaster and brand owner of specialty coffee. Its retail offerings include more than 30 of the world's finest coffee beans, handcrafted espresso and a variety of hot and cold coffee beverages, fresh and flavorful assortments of pastries and food products, as well as a wide variety of coffee makers, coffee cups and other merchandise. In addition, the Company produces and sells bottled Frappuccino coffee beverages, iced shaken double espresso and ice cream through joint venture partners, produces and sells Starbucks Coffee and Cream Liqueur in convenient locations outside of retail stores through marketing and distribution agreements, and continues to expand into new products and brands such as Tazo Tea and Starbucks Music CDs.　In 1987, Mr. Howard Schultz, the current Chairman, purchased Starbucks and has since led the company across several business development milestones. in June 1992, Starbucks successfully went public as the first specialty coffee company, which rapidly drove the company's business growth and brand development. Today, the company has more than 12,000 stores in 37 countries across North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim, and employs more than 117,000 people. The company has long been committed to providing customers with the highest quality coffee and service, creating a unique "Starbucks Experience" and making Starbucks stores around the world a welcoming and comfortable "third place" for people to live, in addition to their workplace and home. At the same time, the company continues to give back to society, the environment, our partners and coffee farmers through a variety of corporate social responsibility programs. Starbucks has been recognized as a "Most Admired Company" by Fortune Magazine for many years for its unique corporate culture and philosophy.　Starbucks is optimistic about the huge potential of the Chinese market and is committed to long-term development in China and growing with the Chinese economy***. Since entering China in 1998, Starbucks has opened more than 430 stores in the Greater China region, including Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macau, of which about 200 are in the mainland. Currently, Starbucks is actively expanding into the mainland's second-tier market and is committed to making China the largest international market for Starbucks outside of the United States in the near future. In addition, in keeping with the company's consistent cultural tradition around the world, the company is actively integrating into local communities and cultures in China and acting as a responsible corporate citizen in China. in September 2005, the company contributed RMB 40 million to establish the "Starbucks China Education Program", which is specifically designed to improve the education situation in China, especially to help impoverished central and western regions' teachers and students. The first of these donations was made in partnership with the China Soong Ching Ling Foundation for the Western Gardener Training Program.　At the end of 2005, Starbucks established its China headquarters in Shanghai, which is mainly responsible for the strategic development, market development and operation of Starbucks Greater China.　For coffee lovers, Starbucks is a familiar name, which was first derived from the classic book of Herman Melville, the 19th century American literary master - Moby Dick, the main character of Moby Dick. In 1971, Gerald Baldwin and Gordon Polk opened Starbucks Corporation, the first specialty coffee bean and spice store in Seattle, U.S.A. In 1987, Howard Schultz spent $4 million to reorganize Starbucks, promoting the transformation of Starbucks to espresso cafes and running Starbucks entirely on his own philosophy, which injected the company with a momentum for long-term growth.　Starbucks coffee is very popular among students and urban white-collar workers in the United States and Canada. In addition to coffee, Starbucks also offers items such as tea (hot or iced), pies, cakes, etc. Some Starbucks stores are even located in superstores. Some Starbucks stores are even located in local stores like supermarkets and bookstores (Starbucks does not operate these supermarkets or bookstores). Generally, the price of Starbucks coffee is not higher than other competitors. As of February 2006, Starbucks had more than 9,000 stores worldwide, in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and the Pacific Rim.