Sodexho USA to Operate Starbucks Coffee Locations on Naval Bases

GAITHERSBURG, MD, September 21, 2005- The Navy Exchange Service Command (NEXCOM); Sodexho USA (NYSE: SDX), the nation's leading provider of food and facilities management services; and Commander, Navy Installations, Morale, Welfare and Recreation (CNI/MWR) announced today an agreement for Sodexho to operate licensed Starbucks Coffee stores on naval bases across the country.

Under the new agreement, Sodexho plans to open stores over the next three years on Navy bases in Norfolk, Va., Pensacola, Fla., Great Lakes, Ill., San Diego, Calif., North Island, Calif., Bangor, Wash., and Newport, R.I.

“Sodexho, NEXCOM and CNI/MWR have identical missions; to improve the quality of daily life for our customers,” said Greg Verone, president of Sodexho's Government Services Division. “Sodexho's world-class service coupled with a world-class brand like Starbucks Coffee is sure to have a positive impact on the lives of Navy Exchange customers, who are the military's active duty, family members, retirees, National Guard and reservists.”

According to Rear Admiral Christopher Weaver, Commander Navy Installations Command, “This incredible partnership brings one of the world's most recognizable brands to our Sailors by leveraging the capabilities of the public and private sectors. Delivering the Starbucks Experience in a Navy Exchange (NEX) or Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) facility is a win for our customers.”

Rear Admiral Robert E. Cowley III, NEXCOM's commander, echoed Weaver's sentiments. “This initiative responds to the demand voiced by our customers for full-service Starbucks Coffee operations with a complete assortment of coffees, teas, blended beverages, pastries, sandwiches, salads, select merchandise and more,” said Cowley. “Working with CNI/MWR was a natural fit so that we could provide Starbucks Coffee products in locations throughout a Navy installation. We look forward to a long and enduring partnership with Sodexho, CNI/MWR and our Navy families.”

Through a licensing agreement signed in 2002, Sodexho operates several Starbucks Coffee stores in the U.S. at colleges and universities, corporations and health care facilities, as well as a location at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, Calif.

“By allowing Sodexho to operate the business, it produces income and frees up investment money for other MWR and NEX projects,” said Cowley. “In addition, the local MWR will receive 100 percent of the commissions generated by Starbucks Coffee stores located in a MWR space.”

Sodexho USA (www.sodexhoUSA.com) is the leading provider of food and facilities management in the United States, with $6 billion in annual revenue and 110,000+ employees. Sodexho offers innovative outsourcing solutions in food service, housekeeping, grounds keeping, plant operations and maintenance, asset management, and laundry services to more than 6,000 corporations, health care, long term care and retirement centers, schools, college campuses, military and remote sites in North America. Headquartered in Gaithersburg, MD, Sodexho USA proudly serves as the official food service provider for the U.S. Marine Corps.

NEXCOM is headquarters for the worldwide Navy Exchange System. Its mission is to provide authorized customers quality goods and services at a savings and to support quality of life programs for active duty military, retirees, reservists and their families. Navy Exchanges are run as non-appropriated fund activities, that is, they are self-sufficient and do not receive appropriated or taxpayer dollars. NEXCOM is responsible for the oversight of 109 Navy Exchange complexes with 344 stores worldwide, 43 Navy Lodges, 168 ship's stores and the Uniform Program Management Office. These four independently functioning programs of the Navy Exchange System generated $2.2 billion in sales in 2004 and provided $46.9 million to Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs.

Commander Navy Installations Command, Morale, Welfare and Recreation program operates diverse fitness, leisure, food and beverage and educational programs at 97 installations and 290 ships and deployed ground-force units throughout the world.