Tully's Coffee

Infobox_Company
company_
company_name = Tully's Coffee Corporation | industry = Restaurants
company_type = Private
foundation = Seattle, Washington 1992
location = A chain of about 100 coffeehouses in five western states
products = Coffee
key_people = Tom T. O'Keefe, Chairman
John K. Buller,President and CEO
num_employees = 899 (2004)| revenue = $50.8 Mil (2004)Sales
homepage = [http://www.tullys.com http://www.tullys.com]

Tully's Coffee is a specialty coffee retailer and wholesaler based in Seattle, Washington. Its stores serve specialty coffees, espresso, baked goods, pastries, and coffee-related supplies. Tully's currently has the highest sales of whole bean coffee in grocery and supermarket stores. Tully's Coffee is well known for once following an expansion strategy of opening stores adjacent to the opposing coffee giant Starbucks, also based in Seattle. There's a running joke in Seattle that the easiest way to find a Tully's is to stand in front of a Starbucks and turn around.

History

Tully's opened its first store in Kent, Washington, in 1992. The founder of Tully's Coffee, Tom Tully O'Keefe, planned to rival the quickly expanding Starbucks coffee. Tully's quickly developed into a strong regional specialty-coffee retailer. In 2006, Tully's made its first net profit. But more recently, the president and CEO has described Tully's focus as no longer on competing against the mega giant Starbucks, but on serving fine hand crafted coffee (and expanding into the Wholesale market).

It now operates nearly 100 stores in the Greater Puget Sound area of Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Southern Idaho, more recently Arizona, and licenses its brand for use in South Korea and Japan. It has also opened several stores in Stockholm. Tully's sold the most profitable unit of the company—its Japan partnership—for US$17.9 million in September, 2005.

In August 2007 plans for an IPO were placed on hold with the company citing a "volatile market." This decision though was made right after the company was unable to secure investor financing for the IPO. Fiscal 2006 losses amounted to $9.7 million.

Tully's sold its bean distribution business and brand to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in 2008, keeping its cafes in order to stave off bankruptcy. [ [http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/2008/09/vermont_coffee.html Vermont coffee company will buy Seattle brand] ]

Drinks

Tully's uses standard cup sizes: 8 oz (short), 12 oz (tall), 16 oz (grande), and 20 oz (vienti). All of its espresso is made using organic fairly-traded beans, and its disposable cups are compostable.

Wi-Fi

As of Jan 14, 2007, Tully's Coffee offers free wireless internet at designated hotspots.

External links

* [http://www.tullys.com Tully's Coffee]