We are all familiar with the term, “Cup of Joe.” But many of us don’t know where it originated. It originally started in World War II when the American military name the G.I. Joes the big coffee drinkers in the nation. The first coffee shop was in Italy in 1683. The company has an annual growth of 25% since 1993. Currently there are 11,000 stores and there is long term growth planned for 30,000 more stores. There are actually five new stores opening every day. Starbucks serves around 40 million customers a week.
They offer health insurance to all their employees including the part-timers. The company is less than one-third the size of Pepsi and Coke. The company has $6.3 billion in annual sales. They have higher sales per square foot than McDonalds. A typical customer to Starbucks stops by 18 times a month! The company name came from the Starbuck Captain Ahab’s first mate on the ship in Herman Melville’s classic 1851 novel Moby Dick. The first store was opened in Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market in 1971. It was set up by two local Seattle teachers and a writer and was called Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spices.
The company is so popular that Playboy magazine is working on a Women of Starbucks issue. Did you know that Starbucks is a non-political organization and does not support or engage in political or religious causes or activities? Allegations that Starbucks supports the Israeli government are false! It was thought that the Starbucks log represented Esther from the Old Testament. The Starbucks logo is based on a 16th century Norse woodcut a two tailed mermaid encircled by the stores original name.
The mermaid reflects the seafaring origins of the coffee traders of old. Starbucks uses its 2,500 employees at the company headquarters as taste-testers for the newest drinks. From 2000 to 2005, Starbucks tripled its U.S. store count from 2,700 to 7,500. Starbucks has decided to team up with SNL and will be uniting to sell the DVD to the public and it will be the only place you can buy this DVD set. It will be the first time that NBC Universal Television Distribution has created and marketed the exclusive release for any retailer.
So what could be the next big selling product for Starbucks? Unfortunately, Starbucks has become greedy. They charge too much for their drinks, coffees and espressos and don’t want the Ethiopian coffee workers to make a decent wage!
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When Levi Strauss invented jeans during the 1800’s he did not call his strange pants denim jeans or even jeans at all. These trousers were originally made out of sailcloth and canvas for miners and prospectors to wear as they were complaining about how their ordinary pants would stretch and split on the job. As the canvas became short in supply he switched to a sturdy fabric called serge made in Nimes France known as Serge de Nimes which later on was shortened to “Denim.” They were originally called “waist overalls.”
The first pair of Levi’s cost only $1.25 in 1880. In fact, one of those original pairs actually sold for $46,532. So what exactly does the YKK on the zipper of your Levi’s stand for? It actually is for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushibibaish, the world’s largest zipper manufacturer. The Levis visitor’s center actually opened in 2003 for the company’s 150th anniversary. The center features historic and current collection of clothing and documents. There is everything from letters to company advertisements to garment made by contestants in “Project Runway” earlier this year.
The world’s oldest pair of jeans is from 1879. One unusual and funny fact is that Levi Strauss hired Jefferson Airplane in 1967 to record a radio commercial for the company. The company can’t replay the song, “White Levi”, which was a version of the song “White Rabbit”. It had some lyric changes due to copyright issues. Another fact is that people actually like to be close with really old stuff says Levis historian Lynn Downey. You should not place any barriers between people and history. In the body of the corporate headquarters on 1155 Battery St in San Francisco you can visit the headquarters for Levi Strauss.
The movie star Bruce Willis actually appeared in the first series of Levi’s 501 Blues commercials around 1986. When the song “Spaceman” by Babyon Zoo was used in a Levi’s jean ad in 1995 it was destined to be number one in the UK. The part used in the ad was the very start of the song which sounds as if the song will be a dance song. People bought the song because of this only to take it home and play it and found it was a rock song. Other songs to hit the top after being used in their ad include “The Joker” by the Steve Miller Band, “Inside” by Stilts kin and “Boombastic” by Shaggy.
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The organization began its work in 1882 fifteen years after the Confederation. The first worship services were held in Toronto in 1882 and in London, Ontario five months later. They were led by British immigrants. A major Thomas Moore arrived from the United States and took charge, There were eleven church congregations in Ontario and year later Canada was declared and independent Territory. They adopted William Booths philosophy that there is little point to preaching salvation to hungry people. So the concept of “soup and salvation” took hold. Many of the Salvation Army’s now work in partnership with the government.
The organization started as the Christian Mission in the East end of London in 1865. It was renamed the Salvation Army in 1878. The vision of the Salvation Army has always been to get people interested in a relationship with God. They practise an integrated ministry with uniting the spiritual, social and physical support. They aid everyone no matter what their race, creed or beliefs and never force their principles on anyone. There is Emergency Housing for people and programs specifically for women and children. They fight against crime and human trafficking and have programs and help for seniors.
Unfortunately, in 1914 the Army shared in a national tragedy with the sinking of The Empress of Ireland in the St. Lawrence. On board there were more than 120 Salvationists bound for an international congress in London. Most of them drowned including the commander. The Salvation Army responds to urgent needs like the Halifax explosion and the Winnipeg flood helping people with whatever they need. There was a trust formed between people and the Salvation Army got the name the “Sally Ann.” The Salvation Army now worships in 11 languages and provides services in many others. The Army has produced many outstanding leaders like Clarence Wiseman and Arnold Brown.
The Salvation Army is now the largest non-governmental provider in the country. It supports vulnerable people and has 400 communities across Canada and 117 countries around the world. They even offer rehabilitation to people who want to get over addictions. The Salvation Army has 915 active soldiers, 23,000 soldiers and close to 48,000 adherents. There are almost 9,000 people employed in Canada and Bermuda. 55 Canadians serve overseas from Papua to South Africa. Unfortunately, because of the economic downturn some Salvation Army’s are being forced to downsize around the country.
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