2. FedEx Corporation is an American multinational courier delivery services company
headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "FedEx" is a syllabic abbreviation of the
name of the company's original air division, Federal Express, which was used from 1973 until
2000. The company is known for its overnight shipping service, but also for pioneering a
system that could track packages and provide real-time updates on package location (to help
in finding lost packages), a feature that has now been implemented by most other carrier
services
3. FedEx Corporation is an import/export company, incorporated October 2, 1997
in Delaware. FDX Corporation was founded in January 1998 with the acquisition of Caliber
System Inc. by Federal Express. With the purchase of Caliber, FedEx started offering
other services besides express shipping. Caliber subsidiaries included RPS, a small-
package ground service; Roberts Express, an expedited shipping provider; Viking Freight,
a regional, less than truckload freight carrier serving the Western United States; Caribbean
Transportation Services, a provider of airfreight forwarding between the United States and
the Caribbean; and Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology, providers of logistics and
technology solutions. FDX Corporation was founded to oversee all of the operations of
those companies and its original air division, Federal Express.
History
4. In January 2000, FDX Corporation changed its name to FedEx Corporation and rebranded all of its
subsidiaries. Federal Express became FedEx Express, RPS became FedEx Ground, Roberts
Express became FedEx Custom Critical, and Caliber Logistics and Caliber Technology were
combined to comprise FedEx Global Logistics. A new subsidiary, called FedEx Corporate Services,
was formed to centralize the sales, marketing, and customer service for all of the subsidiaries. In
February 2000, FedEx acquired Tower Group International, an international logistics company.
FedEx also acquired WorldTariff, a customs duty and tax information company; TowerGroup and
WorldTariff were re-branded to form FedEx Trade Networks.
5. Operating units and logos
FedEx is organized into operating units, each of which has its own version of the wordmark designed in 1994
by Lindon Leader of Landor Associates, of San Francisco. The Fed is always purple and the Ex is in a
different color for each division and platinum for the overall corporation use. The original FedEx logo had
the Ex in orange; it is now used as the FedEx Express wordmark. The FedEx wordmark is notable for
containing a subliminal right-pointing arrow in the negative space between the "E" and the "X", which was
achieved by designing a proprietary font, based on Univers and Futura, to emphasize the arrow shape. In
August, 2016 FedEx announced that all operating units will switch over to the purple and orange color logo
over the next 5 years.
Express (Orange "Ex"): The original overnight courier services, providing next day air service within
the United States and time-definite international service. FedEx Express operates one of the largest
civil aircraft fleets in the world and the largest fleet of wide bodied civil aircraft; it also carries more
freight than any other airline.
6. Political donations and lobbying
According to the Center for Responsive Politics, FedEx Corp is the 21st largest campaign contributor in
the United States. The company has donated over $21 million since 1990, 45% of which went to
Democrats and 55% to Republicans. Strong ties to the White House and members of Congress allow
access to international trade and tax cut rebates as well as the rules of the business practices of
the United States Postal Service. In 2001, FedEx sealed a $9 billion deal with the USPS to transport all
of the post office's overnight and express deliveries.
In 2005, FedEx was among 53 entities that contributed the maximum of $250,000 to sponsor the
second inauguration of President George W. Bush.
During the first three months of 2010, FedEx spent nearly $4.9 million lobbying the federal
government (UPS, FedEx's main competitor, spent $1.6 million on lobbying over the same period), a
4% increase from the $4.7 million spent during the last quarter of 2009, but more than twice what it
spent on lobbying during the first quarter of 2009.
7. Starbucks Corporation is an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain.
Starbucks was founded in Seattle, Washington in 1971. As of November 2016, it
operates 23,768 locations worldwide, including 13,107 (+170) in the United States,
2,204 (+86) in China, 1,418 (-12) in Canada, 1,160 (+2) in Japan and 872 in South
Korea (bumping United Kingdom from 5th place) (Differences reflect growth since
Jan 8, 2016).
Starbucks is considered the main representative of "second wave coffee", initially
distinguishing itself from other coffee-serving venues in the US by taste, quality, and
customer experience while popularizing darkly roasted coffee. Since the 2000s, third
wave coffee makers have targeted quality-minded coffee drinkers with hand-made
coffee based on lighter roasts, while Starbucks nowadays uses automated espresso
machines for efficiency and safety reasons.
8. Starbucks locations serve hot and cold drinks, whole-bean coffee, microground instant coffee
known as VIA, espresso, caffe latte, full- and loose-leaf teas including Teavana tea
products, Evolution Fresh juices, Frappuccino beverages, La Boulange pastries, and snacks
including items such as chips and crackers; some offerings (including their annual fall launch
of the Pumpkin Spice Latte) are seasonal or specific to the locality of the store. Many stores
sell pre-packaged food items, hot and cold sandwiches, and drinkware including mugs
and tumblers; select "Starbucks Evenings" locations offer beer, wine, and
appetizers. Starbucks-brand coffee, ice cream, and bottled cold coffee drinks are also sold
at grocery stores.
9. Starbucks first became profitable in Seattle in the early 1980s, and despite an
initial economic downturn with its expansion into the Midwest and British
Columbia in the late 1980s, the company experienced revitalized prosperity
with its entry into California in the early 1990s.The first Starbucks location
outside North America opened in Tokyo in 1996; overseas properties now
constitute almost one-third of its stores . The company opened an average of
two new locations daily between 1987 and 2007.
