Tully's Coffee
Encyclopedia
Tully's Coffee is a specialty coffee
retailer and wholesaler based in Seattle, Washington, United States
. Its stores serve specialty coffees, espresso, baked goods, pastries, and coffee-related supplies. It also has overseas licensing agreements in Japan and South Korea where its brand name is used for Tully's coffee houses in those countries. Tully's currently has the highest sales of whole bean coffee in grocery and supermarket stores in the US. Tully 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. The busiest Tully's in the world is located inside the Boeing
Everett
factory, near where 747 aircraft are built.
. Tully's quickly developed into a strong regional specialty-coffee retailer that was concentrated in Puget Sound, where coffee loyalty is so deep there is one coffee shop for every 4000 people. 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 200 stores in the Greater Puget Sound area of Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles
, Idaho
, Arizona
, and licenses its brand for use in South Korea
and Japan
. It has also opened one store in Stockholm, Sweden. 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, earning $40.3 million in the deal, allowing them to pay off part of its balance sheet of 102.1 million dollars and expand its retail business.
In 2010, Tully's Coffee International and DK Retail Co., Ltd. entered into a Master Licensing Agreement to develop up to 100 retail stores in South Korea.
The founder of Tully's Coffee, Tom O'Keefe, is set to retire June 30 as chairman of Seattle's second-largest coffee retailer.
.
Coffee
Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
retailer and wholesaler based in Seattle, Washington, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its stores serve specialty coffees, espresso, baked goods, pastries, and coffee-related supplies. It also has overseas licensing agreements in Japan and South Korea where its brand name is used for Tully's coffee houses in those countries. Tully's currently has the highest sales of whole bean coffee in grocery and supermarket stores in the US. Tully 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. The busiest Tully's in the world is located inside the Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
Everett
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat of and the largest city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. Named for Everett Colby, son of founder Charles L. Colby, it lies north of Seattle. The city had a total population of 103,019 at the 2010 census, making it the 6th largest in the state and...
factory, near where 747 aircraft are built.
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 coffeeStarbucks
Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...
. Tully's quickly developed into a strong regional specialty-coffee retailer that was concentrated in Puget Sound, where coffee loyalty is so deep there is one coffee shop for every 4000 people. 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 200 stores in the Greater Puget Sound area of Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, and licenses its brand for use in South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. It has also opened one store in Stockholm, Sweden. 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
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
Green Mountain Coffee Roasters is a publicly-traded brand of coffee based at Waterbury in the U.S. state of Vermont. The brand specializes in organic, fair trade, and specialty gourmet coffees. Keurig is a wholly owned subsidiary of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc., and sells many of their...
in 2008, earning $40.3 million in the deal, allowing them to pay off part of its balance sheet of 102.1 million dollars and expand its retail business.
In 2010, Tully's Coffee International and DK Retail Co., Ltd. entered into a Master Licensing Agreement to develop up to 100 retail stores in South Korea.
The founder of Tully's Coffee, Tom O'Keefe, is set to retire June 30 as chairman of Seattle's second-largest coffee retailer.
Drinks
Tully's uses standard hot cup sizes: 8 USfloz short, 12 USfloz tall, 16 USfloz grande, and 20 USfloz viente. Until October 2009, iced drinks were 4 USfloz larger in order to accommodate for the addition of ice to the drinks. All of its espresso drinks were made using organic and fair trade beans, but this was discontinued near the end of 2008.Wi-Fi
As of January 14, 2007, Tully's Coffee offers free wireless internet at designated hotspotsHotspot (Wi-Fi)
A hotspot is a site that offers Internet access over a wireless local area network through the use of a router connected to a link to an Internet service provider...
.