Krispy Kreme
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Krispy Kreme | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Public (NYSE: KKD) |
| Founded | 1937 |
| Headquarters | Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA |
| Industry | Restaurant |
| Products | Doughnuts, Soft drinks, Hot Drinks |
| Revenue | 510.21 million USD (2006) |
| Net income | ▲ 13.37 million USD (2007) |
| Employees | 4250 |
| Website | http://www.krispykreme.com/ |
Krispy Kreme is a chain of doughnut stores. Its parent company is Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (NYSE: KKD), based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States.
Krispy Kreme sells a variety of doughnuts, but it is most famous for its traditional glazed doughnut, often served warm. Select varieties of Krispy Kreme doughnuts are carried in many grocery stores, convenience stores, and gas stations. Krispy Kreme doughnuts can also be found in some larger Wal-Mart and Target stores in the United States, Wal-Mart, Loblaws supermarkets and Petro-Canada gas stations in Canada, and now many Tesco supermarkets and Tesco Extra hypermarkets in the United Kingdom.
The company's growth was steady prior to its initial public offering but profits have decreased in recent quarters.[1]
As of February 2008, Kuwait-based M A Kharafi Group owned 9.1% of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc.[2]
Most free-standing Krispy Kreme stores are constructed with a long window between the customer area and the kitchen allowing patrons to watch the operation of the doughnut making machines. The machines produce rings of dough, yeast raise, bake, deep-fry, flip, and glaze the doughnuts. These stores have a neon sign that, when lit (usually morning and evening), tells customers that hot, fresh Original Glazed doughnuts are coming off the line at that moment. Some smaller locations, however, bring in their doughnuts from other locations rather than producing them on-site. Krispy Kreme's competitors within the United States include Dunkin' Donuts, Starbucks, and Winchell's.[3]
Contents |
[edit] History
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This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2007) |
The founder, Vernon Rudolph, worked for his uncle, Ishmael Armstrong, who purchased a secret recipe for yeast-raised doughnuts and a shop on Broad Street in Paducah, Kentucky, from Joseph LeBeouf of Lake Charles, LA . Rudolph began selling the yeast doughnuts in Paducah and delivered them on his bicycle. The operation was moved to Nashville, TN, and other family members joined to meet the customer demand. Rudolph sold his interest in the Nashville store and in 1937 opened a doughnut shop in Winston-Salem, NC, and began selling to groceries and then directly to individual customers. The first Krispy Kreme store was located in a rented building on South Main Street in Winston-Salem in what is now called historic Old Salem.
By the 1960s, Krispy Kreme was well-known throughout the southeastern United States, and it began to expand into other areas of the country.
In 1976, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation became a wholly owned subsidiary of Beatrice Foods Company of Chicago, Illinois. The headquarters for Krispy Kreme remained in Winston-Salem.
A group of franchisees purchased the corporation back from Beatrice Foods in 1982.
In 2003, a pilot project in Mountain View, California, to sell doughnuts through car windows and sunroofs at a busy intersection (with wireless payment) failed.
On June 3, 2005, National Doughnut Day in the US, participating franchises gave away free doughnuts.
On February 19, 2007, Krispy Kreme began selling the Whole Wheat Glazed doughnut in an attempt to appeal to the health conscious. The doughnut has twenty kilocalories (83,736 J) fewer than the original glazed (180 vs. 200 kcal) and contains more fiber (2 grams vs. 0.5 grams). As of January 2008, Krispy Kreme doughnuts are free of trans fats and are labeled as "0 grams of trans fat".
[edit] Growth
Krispy Kreme began another phase of rapid expansion in the 1990s, opening stores outside the southeastern United States where most of their stores were located. Then, in December 2001, Krispy Kreme opened its first store outside the U.S. in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, just outside Toronto. Since 2004, Krispy Kreme has rapidly expanded its international operations.
On April 5, 2000, the corporation went public on the NASDAQ using the ticker symbol KREM. On May 17, 2001, Krispy Kreme switched to the New York Stock Exchange, with the ticker symbol KKD, which is its current symbol.
On January 18, 2005, Krispy Kreme announced Stephen Cooper, chairman of financial consulting group Kroll Zolfo Cooper LLC, as interim CEO. Cooper replaces Scott Livengood, who the company said has retired as chairman, president, CEO and a director. The company also named Steven Panagos, a managing director of Kroll Zolfo, as president and COO.[citation needed]
Although based on informal advertising such as word-of-mouth, in 2006, Krispy Kreme moved into television and radio advertisements, beginning with its "Share the Love" campaign with heart-shaped doughnuts. [4]
[edit] Problems
[edit] Arizona and New Mexico
On August 11, 2006, all 11 Krispy Kreme stores in Arizona and New Mexico were closed without warning when the Rigel Corporation, the franchise responsible for all Krispy Kreme stores in these states, filed for bankruptcy. There was no statement from Rigel's corporate offices regarding the closures and no word was given regarding a possible reopening of the stores. The closing was further controversial because store owners did not provide any warning of the closing to their employees, except to an undisclosed number who were notified the day before. Most claim not to have known about the impeding closures until they came to work and found the location closed (this was typical of Rigel's practices elsewhere.) The total number of employees affected is not known, but a local report indicated 55 employees were without work just in Tucson, Arizona.
Krispy Kreme reentered the Arizona market when a new franchisee reopened its East Mesa, Arizona location on May 13, 2008. This location was purchased by Krispy Kreme after Rigel closed it in 2006. The new franchise owner, Dan Brinton, plans to eventually open 4 to 5 factory stores in the Phoenix market. These stores are planned to support 10 to 15 smaller non-factory stores that will only sell doughnuts and other products.[5]
[edit] California
In January 2006, Krispy Kreme terminated the franchise license of Great Circle Family Foods LLC, alleging non-payment of required fees.[6] At the time, they were one of the largest franchisees, operating 28 stores in Southern California. Preceding this action was a financial dispute by Great Circle, culminating in their September lawsuit filed against Krispy Kreme. The lawsuit was settled in July 2006 and led to the reinstatement of Great Circle's license.[7]
On August 22, 2007 Great Circle Family Foods and some of its wholly owned subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.[8]
[edit] Canada
The 18 stores which opened in Canada, out of 32 planned, have since been reduced to 6 stores. Three of those exist in Quebec (in Laval, Greenfield Park, and Quebec City.) and other three stores are in Calgary, Alberta, Mississauga, Ontario and Surrey, British Columbia. Krispy Kreme's Canadian assets were put up for sale in 2005 seven weeks after the U.S.-based doughnut company had the firm that owns and operates stores in Canada placed under bankruptcy protection.[9]
[edit] International operations
Besides the stores that Krispy Kreme operate in the United States and Canada, there are also franchise owned stores in the United Kingdom, Australia, Kuwait, Mexico, South Korea, Hong Kong, Indonesia, The Philippines, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The first Krispy Kreme store to open outside North America was in Sydney, Australia[10].
The latest Krispy Kreme stores to open in Puerto Rico and Australia, on the Queen St. Mall in Brisbane City has proven to be very popular with long queues at all hours and people camping out on the first day of the opening.[11]
[edit] Kool Kreme
Seattle based franchissee KremeWorks LLC, opened the first Kool Kreme inside the Tacoma Mall Krispy Kreme on October 25, 2007. Kool Kreme is the new cousin to the Krispy Kreme brand. Kool Kreme includes fresh fruit toppings to add to sundaes and shakes; they also offer cones with three different choices of soft serve: Very Vanilla, Deep Chocolate, and Very Deep Swirl.[12]
[edit] References
- ^ Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (KKD) Income statement. Yahoo! Finance (2006-12-16). Retrieved on 2006-12-16.
- ^ http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidZAWYA20060413104226
- ^ Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. (KKD): Competitors. Yahoo! Finance (2006-12-16). Retrieved on 2006-12-16.
- ^ Krispy Kreme using TV, radio to sell treats. MSN.
- ^ Krispy Kreme to make return to Mesa. azcentral.com (2008-04-22). Retrieved on 2006-04-22.
- ^ (Associated Press) Krispy Kreme Ends Franchisee's Licenses
- ^ Page 36 from a 10-K SEC Filing, filed by KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS INC on 10/31/2006
- ^ (Associated Press) Krispy Kreme Franchisee Files Chapter 11
- ^ Krispy Kreme's Canadian assets for sale
- ^ American Krispy Kreme says PR is way to Australian stomachs B&T online 7 March 2007
- ^ http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/whatson/krispy-kreme-store-opens/2008/04/28/1209234729627.html
- ^ [http://www.newstribune.com/business/story/226437.html
[edit] Other references
- I Remember Paducah When by Barron White-ISBN-0-9113338 72 4]
- Winston-Salem Journal, "Krispy Kreme Lawsuit Filed." December 31, 2004.
- Krispy Kreme Corporation Investor FAQ
- Krispy Kreme Press Kit
- Krispy Fills Kreme-Filled Hole in the Market
- Forbes Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Corp. Page
Krispy Kreme tries product that's Kool
[edit] External links
- Official Krispy Kreme web site
- Official Australia Krispy Kreme web site
- Yahoo! - Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. Company Profile
- Feelin' Foodie: Krispy Kreme Westfield Fountain Gate
- The Age: Horde of the Rings
- How Stuff Works: Krispy Kreme
