Posted on 11/23/2004 12:59:52 AM PST by kattracks
Carb-conscious Americans continued to flatten Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, as the onetime Wall Street darling yesterday posted a loss of $3 million in the third quarter.That bad news sent the stock reeling 16 percent or to just above the $7 price of a dozen assorted sweet things.
The struggling doughnut chain has lost more than 75 percent of its market value since last year as people have suddenly stayed away from the glazed treats in droves, and opted for healthier snacks.
As a result, each Krispy Kreme store has seen $10,000 a week in revenue waddle out the door, a drop of some 16 percent.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
They're just adequate. I prefer the cake donut. In fact there's a cake doughnut place in my old hometown of La Crosse, Wisconsin ( I now live a short distance away) that was voted the best doughnut shop in Wisconsin by the biggest paper in the state, The Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel. KK moved into the area last year, and after initial great interest, their business is really down.
Tsk, Tsk. Too much sugar I guess.
So you are saying that the local newspaper is the expert? If they had supported John Kerry and said that he was the presidential candidate that Wisconsin voters should vote for, would that have meant that you would believe them and would have voted for Kerry?
I had a Krispy Kreme once, that was more than enough for a lifetime.
Sometimes liberals are correct in areas not concerning politics. Actually I have no way of knowing the political persuasion of the food expert who assessed Mr. D's of La Crosse as having the best sinkers in Wisconsin. And frankly I don't care as the whole thing is subjective anyway and not worth anything but laughing about. I hope you're laughing pal.
I think they taste awful, too, I have no clue what the hubub is all about.
This year KK built and opened a brand new store here in town which made the donuts and sold them right on site, including hot coffee. Terrific idea!
At first, crowds were overwhelming and went out the door. However, the first (and only) time I went in, I got an anemic donut for $.79 + tax. Sure, it was "fresh", but it was twice the cost it was worth and smaller than I expected. Also, their coffee was overpriced and not too good.
Apparently, other people felt the same way. Spider webs now grow across their parking lot.
They ruined their business by not producing the best product at a competitive price and making sure you got your money's worth. Their name alone was not good enough to overcome their deficiencies. I can go down the street to Wal Mart and get nearly as good a donut for $.30, or go to the local coffee shop and get a much better cup of coffee for almost the same price.
When you go to KK, their donuts are OK but can't bear to pay their prices for what you get - at least in our town.
The manager of my local donut shop tells me that the traditional sugar coated, fruit filled donuts are not selling so well anymore. Instead, his health conscious customers are switching to bagels. When I pointed out that a typical bagel has about 300 calories (not including the cream cheese that most people slather it with) he just smiled and chuckled.
The moral of this story is that most people are content to follow the crowd and donut shop owners are quite happy to let them. After all, a bagel costs a lot more than a donut.
How dare Wally World produce a similar product at lower prices.
They can do that because Wally World is really a slave labor camp disguised as a retail store.
It's true, just ask any union (thug) boss.
< / sarcasm >
I suspect that a large portion of KK's revenue stream has come from the sale of franchises and not from the product itself. There are only a finite number of people willing to eat that crap and therefore, as the number of franchises grows, the sales per store must diminish. Boston Market suffered the same problem several years ago and it had greater product diversity.
I saw a display of KK donuts at Walmart the other day and couldn't believe what they were priced at. I don't get it...it's just a freakin' donut. Now if they were as a good as the Shipley's sausage and jalapeno kolaches I could understand. Those are worth every cent.
Do they push ocffee in their retail locations? I'm not a donut eater, but I go to Dunkin Donuts for cappucino and latte's, since they're at least a buck cheaper than Starbucks. They always seem busy...but they also offer croissant and bagel breakfast sandwiches.
Atkins shmatkins. Krispy Kreme was a passing fad that a few got rich on.
For me, its not just to lose weight, but a health thing. I think high carb foods put a strain on the body that can eventually lead to diabetes.
KK makes a good dounut, but so does a half a dozen other places I know. These places are also about 10% to 20 % cheaper then kk. Guess where I buy my fat pills.
I still remember Spudnuts....donuts made from potato flour. These I really like. Thinking of next wave of fads I did a search. A couple of stores still in business as independents,nothing about the franchise. Enterprise, anyone?
BLASPHEMY!!!
You are of course, very wrong.
in my business we knew kk was a creme-filled pipe dream when it went public.
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