Typically after the Thanksgiving and Christmas feasts come the New Year resolution to shed some poundage. This week however comes word that Starbucks and Krispy Kreme are doing their darnedest to keep us chubby despite their healthier menu items (it's still a donut, not a carrot) by revamping their game plans as mentioned in the articles below from MediaPost.
| News Brief |
| Krispy Kreme CEO Replaced By Board Chair |
| Tuesday, Jan 8, 2008 5:00 AM ET |
| KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS CEO DARYL Brewster has resigned and is being replaced by board of directors chair James Morgan. Brewster came on board in March 2006, assigned to turn the company around. But allegations of mismanagement, healthier food trends and tougher competition have caused the company to struggle. Quarterly sales were down in December. Also on Monday, Krispy Kreme said all of its products sold in the United States now have zero grams of trans fat. --Nina M. Lentini |
| Starbucks Slows Ship, Begins Return To Safer Harbor | |
| by Nina M. Lentini, Tuesday, Jan 8, 2008 5:00 AM ET | |
| AS HE TOOK BACK THE reins as Starbucks CEO on Monday, chairman Howard Schultz admitted that much of the company's problems have been self-induced, and promised Wall Street that it will "revitalize the romance, theater and warmth of experience" that made the company famous and successful. Out as CEO was Jim Donald, who the company said is leaving. In a conference call with analysts on Monday, Schultz noted that the Starbucks brand has been eroded by rivals that have been able to copy a lower-profile experience that Starbucks has settled for over the past several years. In fact, it was last Valentine's Day that Schultz issued an internal memo to Donald, which was leaked, that criticized the "watering down of the Starbucks experience and what some might call the commoditization of our brand." Monday's news comes hours after rival McDonald's announced that it will launch Italian-style coffee bars serving the very fare that will allow it to directly compete with Starbucks. Schultz said the switch in focus and the replacement of Donald as CEO is not a response to McDonald's recent announcement or to the rising costs of commodities. "The roots of this change precede the holidays," he said. "These steps don't address current trends, but position us to stay ahead in the future by remaining unique." Schultz and other company executive declined to answer some specific questions, referring analysts to the company's planned quarterly conference call on Jan. 30. Schultz served as CEO from 1987--when he bought the company after serving as director of operations and marketing for five years--to 2000. During that period, the company went public in 1992 and enjoyed exceptional U.S. and international growth. From 2000 onward, in his role as chairman, Schultz focused on the company's global strategies and expansion, which now include a growing presence in 43 countries. "We have gotten a little soft," he told analysts on Monday, promising to bring "courage, curiosity and commitment to do things that haven't been done before." Some industry observers could see this coming. Gerry Khermouch, executive editor of Beverage Marketer's Insights, wrote in the newsletter's Jan. 4 issue that one trend to watch in 2008 is "fast-feeders trying to edge further upscale vs. Starbucks and fast-casual chains. In that sense, paranoia is a healthy thing."
|
(By the way, I knew about the upcoming McDonalds Coffee competition due to them being one of my clients, but I know how to keep my mouth shut.) Sphere: Related Content
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment