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Starbucks Honors Seattle Mariners All-Star Ichiro Suzuki with One-of-a-Kind Card for a Good Cause


WEBWIRE

SEATTLE--April 4, 2005--
Available Today, Commemorative Starbucks Card to Raise Funds for Children’s Charities in the United States and Japan

There will be a new kind of Ichiro Suzuki card available to baseball fans this season as Starbucks (Nasdaq:SBUX) -- together with Major League Baseball and the Seattle Mariners -- debuts a commemorative Starbucks Card featuring the All-Star right fielder for the Seattle Mariners. The Ichiro Starbucks Card, which is available for sale today, Mariners Opening Day, will give back to the community by delivering proceeds to local children’s charities in the U.S. and Japan.

The pre-loaded Ichiro Starbucks Card will sell for $10, the face value of the Card, and will be available for sale at most Starbucks stores throughout Washington State, Oregon and Japan. For each Ichiro Starbucks Card purchased in the U.S., $2 will be donated by Starbucks and Major League Baseball to the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation. In Japan, purchase of the Ichiro Starbucks Card will result in a 200 Yen donation to children’s charities including the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Japan.

“The Ichiro Starbucks Card honors both a respected sports hero and the local community,” said Howard Schultz, Starbucks chairman. “We hope customers will have fun using their commemorative Ichiro Starbucks Card, while feeling good about giving back and supporting children’s charities.”

The Ichiro Starbucks Card, which features his likeness and commemorates his single season record of 262 hits, is one in a series of unique and popular Starbucks Card designs. This marks the first time that a professional athlete is featured on a Starbucks Card. The limited edition Ichiro Starbucks Card will be available for sale online at http://www.starbucks.com/51 and in most Starbucks stores in Washington State, Oregon and Japan beginning today through Sept. 30, 2005.

“The reason I have decided to support this program is that both Starbucks and myself have a strong commitment to the community and we both share the desire to support children who carry our future,” said Ichiro Suzuki, Seattle Mariners right fielder. “I want to do my best to help make this meaningful and rewarding. I ask you all to please lend us your support.”

Starbucks has long-standing relationships with the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Japan and the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation in the U.S. Since 2003, Starbucks Japan has donated more than $100,000 to Make-A-Wish. Over the last four years, Starbucks partners (employees) and customers in the U.S. have donated more than 2.5 million gifts to the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation through the Holiday Angels Joy Drive. This past holiday season alone, nearly 700,000 toys and books were donated for the seriously ill children served by Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation.

To help support this innovative program, today United Airlines, which has served Starbucks(R) coffee on its flights since 1996, will surprise and delight its customers by giving each traveler an Ichiro Starbucks Card on its Seattle-to-Tokyo and Tokyo-to-Seattle flights. Each Ichiro Starbucks Card given away to United Airlines customers also will include the charitable donation from Starbucks and Major League Baseball. Two dollars from every Card will be donated to the Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation for the Seattle-bound flight and 200 Yen from every Card will be donated to children’s charities including the Make-A-Wish Foundation in Japan for the Tokyo-bound flight.

Since its launch in November 2001, the Starbucks Card has offered customers a convenient way to pay for their Starbucks purchases, along with an element of surprise and delight for those customers who register their Cards in the U.S. Customers look forward to the unique seasonal Card designs that Starbucks offers. Those who register their Starbucks Cards in the U.S. periodically receive rewards such as a half-pound of promotional coffee or a complimentary beverage.

For more information about the commemorative Ichiro Starbucks Card, please visit our Web site at: http://www.starbucks.com/51.

About Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is the leading retailer, roaster and brand of specialty coffee in the world, with more than 9,000 retail locations in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific Rim. The Company is committed to offering the highest quality coffee and the Starbucks Experience while conducting its business in ways that produce social, environmental and economic benefits for communities in which it does business. In addition to its retail operations, the Company produces and sells bottled Frappuccino(R) coffee drinks, Starbucks DoubleShot(R) coffee drink, and a line of superpremium ice creams through its joint venture partnerships. The Company’s brand portfolio provides a wide variety of consumer products. Tazo Tea’s line of innovative superpremium teas and Hear Music’s exceptional compact discs enhance the Starbucks Experience through best-of-class products. The Seattle’s Best Coffee(R) and Torrefazione Italia(R) Coffee brands enable Starbucks to appeal to a broader consumer base by offering an alternative variety of coffee flavor profiles.



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