Robert Pattinson Sipping a Dunkin’ Donuts Coffee

Robert Pattinson and on-screen love interest Emilie De Ravin shoot new scenes for their new movie, Remember Me, at the Crestwood stop of the Metro North Railroad Harlem Line in Yonkers, New York on Monday afternoon (June 29).

Remember Me centers on two lovers whose new found relationship is threatened as they try to cope with their respective family tragedies.

The 23-year-old British actor, plays Edward Cullen in the Twilight franchise.

Tim Hortons Set to Open in Big Apple

Janet Whitman of the Financial Post writes that after a 25-year battle to make inroads in the biggest fast-food market in the world, Tim Hortons Inc. is set to open up a new U. S. front in August when it takes its double-doubles into the heart of New York City’s coffee wars.

The iconic Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain plans to have three stores up and running in the Big Apple, including a location in Times Square — its first foray into Manhattan — the Financial Post has learned.

More New York City store openings are likely to follow in the coming months if the three test locations are deemed a success against already entrenched rivals including Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and McDonald’s, with its heavily hyped McCafe espresso drinks.

The initial three stores will be cobranded with U. S. ice-cream parlour chain Cold Stone Creamery, part of a plan by the two companies to open more than 100 locations together throughout the United States and Canada.

“New York City offers a tremendous opportunity and we recognize that,” David Clanachan, chief operations officer for U. S. and international operations at Tim Hortons, said in an interview. “It’s the biggest stage of all. If you’re a retailer, you want to be in New York City. How well we do there with the three stores is going to play into our overall development plans for our U. S. business.”

Tim Hortons opened its first U. S. store in 1984 in Tonawanda, N. Y. Since then, the company has expanded into 10 other states — Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maine, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts –and now has a total of 527 U. S. locations. It plans to add as many as 40 U. S. stores this year, mainly in its more established markets along the U. S.-Canadian border.

Compared to Canada– where regular trips to Tim Hortons are practically a national pastime– the United States hasn’t always been an easy sell.

The company has faced a particularly hard grind in southern New England — prime Dunkin’ Donuts territory — and ended up closing 11 underperforming locations there at the end of last year.

It’s unclear how well Tim Hortons will go down with New Yorkers.

The city’s streets already are brimming with highly popular coffee brands. It’s hard to walk a block without passing a Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks or McDonald’s.

“Coffee is shaping up to be like the burger wars of prior decades,” said Dennis Lombardi, executive vice-president of food-service strategies for WD Partners, a restaurant and retail design and development consultancy. “One of the challenges Tim Hortons has to face is its brand recognition in the United States, especially in new markets. One of the things Starbucks did very well is that it went into a market with a lot of stores.”

Tim Hortons will need to open enough stores for consumers to hear about its brand, he said. “If there isn’t awareness, there’s never going to be a trial, and if there’s no trial, there’s no way you’re going to get them to become customers.”

Despite the tough market, Mr. Clanachan said he’s “very bullish” about New York City and the rest of the company’s U. S. business.

“American consumers are very savvy,” he said. “They understand good value and good quality and they’re prepared to try new things…. Whether you’re talking about Detroit or Columbus, Ohio, the reality is there is a lot of competition. The key thing is to deliver on quality and service.”

Rather than a pricey TV advertising blitz, Tim Hortons will look to hook New Yorkers with local marketing efforts, such as coupons for free coffee, a strategy that has worked well for the company in other U. S. markets.

“I’m a big believer that if you try our coffee three times, we’ve got you for life,” Mr. Clanachan said.

Opening up shop with Cold Stone Creamery — a company with great U. S. brand recognition — should also give Tim Hortons a boost.

The two companies’ co-branding effort debuted over the winter in Rhode Island, and they now have more than 40 locations together, including about a half-dozen in Canada.

New York City, home to Cold Stone Creamery’s flagship store in Times Square, seemed “the next logical place” to expand the partnership, said Kevin Blackwell, chief executive of Cold Stone’s parent company, Kahala Corp., in Scottsdale, Ariz. “The results of the stores that we’ve already opened have been very encouraging. The customers seem very happy and the franchisees are very happy.”

Besides exposing each brand to new customers, the companies also are saving a bundle on real-estate and other costs because of their complementary traffic patterns.

Tim Hortons typically has its heaviest traffic in the mornings and early afternoons, while Cold Stone Creamery is busiest in the late afternoon and evenings.

“We think it’s a good fit,” Mr. Blackwell said. “If the New York stores give us the same results we’ve had in other markets, if they play out favourably, then we’ll look to open more stores together there.”

Financial Post

Dunkin’ Stops Selling Hot Chocolate as a Precaution

The Boston Globe reports that Dunkin’ Donuts, the Canton-based coffee-and-baked-goods chain, said that it will temporarily stop selling hot chocolate and Dunkaccino beverages as a precautionary measure after one of its suppliers learned that some of its equipment might be contaminated with Salmonella.

Dunkin’ Donuts emphasized that its decision was voluntary and precautionary.

“We have confirmed that no Dunkin’ Donuts products were contaminated,” the chain said in a statement. “However, we have made the decision to temporarily withdraw the beverages from our stores to ensure the safety of our customers. No other Dunkin’ Donuts products were subject to this withdrawal. We expect to have these products back in stores shortly, and we apologize for any inconvenience this has caused our customers.”

The supplier is the Plainview Milk Products Cooperative of Plainview, Minn.

Earlier this week, the US Food and Drug Administration issued a press release about Plainview recalling some products because of potential Salmonella contamination.

To read the FDA’s press release, please click here.

In a news story from yesterday, Reuters noted that Plainview said then that there have been no reports of illness related to its products.

Boston Globe

The Costly Card-Check

The Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 has franchises lobbying politicians to block the legislation that could ‘dramatically increase labor costs.’

As of early May, there were reports in the national media that a compromise bill was being drafted by Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who was said to be holding private meetings with a minority group of Democrats opposed to the legislation in its current form, including Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.).

Andrew Weikert, director of government affairs for the Auntie Anne’s Inc. hot pretzel chain, is spending a lot of time in Washington these days battling a contentious labor issue his company fears could critically impair its franchise system at a time when economic recovery remains uncertain.

The Lancaster, Pennsylvania–based quick-serve operating nearly 1,000 units is just one of many restaurant companies taking a hard line against the Employee Free Choice Act of 2009 (EFCA), also known as “card check” legislation, which was introduced in identical bills in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on March 10.

The legislation calls for changes to a labor law that opponents say threaten to skew the organizing process unfairly toward unions, whose numbers have been steadily waning in recent years. Critics of the act also say it would bring near-certain increases in hourly wages at a time when many restaurants are struggling with slower sales and a range of economic pressures brought on by the recession.

“Costs are going up. When you combine that with an increase, perhaps a dramatic increase in labor costs, it could have the potential to put some of our franchises out of business,” says Weikert, who along with Auntie Anne’s CEO, Sam Beiler, joined the National Restaurant Association (NRA) in its recent lobbying efforts against the legislation.

Proponents of the bills argue that increased union representation as well as the higher wages and secure benefits it guarantees would give more power to the middle class, which has borne the brunt of the downturn. Workers’ increased buying power could help to jumpstart the economy at a time when consumer spending remains stagnant, they argue.

“Passing the Employee Free Choice Act would be tantamount to a mini-economic stimulus package—pumping $49 billion into the economy every year at a time when working families need it most,” says Christy Setzer, a spokeswoman for the Service Employees International Union (SEI). SEI is among the groups leading the charge for EFCA, which was introduced by Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts and Rep. George Miller of California, both Democrats.

The business community remains staunchly opposed to the changes, with groups such as the NRA, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the International Franchise Association (IFA), and others raising millions in attempts to thwart the bills.

“The economy is in a fairly challenging place,” says David French, IFA’s vice president of government relations. A recent IFA FranPulse poll indicated that 86 percent of Americans in franchising say EFCA includes provisions that would hamper their ability to compete.

“Even the most optimistic supporters of this bill recognize that it is going to cost jobs,” French says.

Read more at QSR Magazine

Take Action! Send an email to your Representatives in Congress.

Tell them you oppose EFCA or Card Check!

It will only take 3 minutes to do! Do it Now!

Atlanta Bread Franchisee Wins in Georgia Supreme Court

Janet Sparks writes at Blue MauMau that “Accordingly, the Court of Appeals did not err when it affirmed the trial court’s finding that the in-term restraint was unenforceable. Judgment affirmed. All the Justices concur.” That was the final ruling posted this morning by the Georgia Supreme Court in the Atlanta Bread Co. v. Lupton-Smith case that determined non-compete clauses for franchises have limits.

The Supreme Court ruled last October that it would review the appellate court decision in the case of a former Atlanta Bread franchisee who had been terminated for allegedly violating his non-compete clause in opening a PJ’s Coffee franchise. Lupton-Smith, a five-unit operator, initially filed a lawsuit against Atlanta Bread in 2006 for the termination. At the trial level the court applied a very strict standard to in-term covenants and ruled that the franchisor’s non-compete was unenforceable.

Randy Edwards, Cochran & Edwards, representing Lupton-Smith said they are very pleased with the court’s ruling.  “With today’s decision we’ve had  the trial court, we’ve had three judges from the Georgia Court of Appeals and seven justices from the Georgia Supreme Court who have unanimously agreed that Atlanta Bread Company did not have the right to terminate these franchise agreements based on the alleged violation of these non-competition covenants.”  Edwards said the case will now go back to the trial court, which could commence in the next few months.

The International Franchise Association had filed two amicus briefs in support of Atlanta Bread in the case. David French, president of the IFA’s government relations division, had stated, “This case is important to preserving the franchise model because the lower court’s ruling, if allowed to remain as is, could render unenforceable the in-term restrictive covenants in the vast majority of franchise contracts for businesses operated in Georgia, including many of the most well-known and respected franchises in the world.”

The ruling states that because there is no error, they likewise affirm the appellate court decision, stating, “In this state, restrictive (or non-competition) covenants are considered to be partial restraints of trade and must be reasonable as to time, territory and scope to be enforceable.” Although Atlanta Bread contends that the clause at issue is a “loyalty provision” and not a restrictive covenant subject to being scrutinized for its reasonableness as to time, territory and scope, the Supreme Court disagreed. “A plain reading of the clause shows that it prohibits the franchisee from engaging in a certain type of business during the term of the parties’ agreement and, thus, it is a partial restraint of trade designed to lessen competition.” The court said such restraints “are disfavored in Georgia as a matter of public policy.”

The decision also stated that they rejected “a legislative attempt to usurp the application of standard of reasonableness to non-competition covenants in employment agreements, and, by extension, in franchise agreements.”

Atlanta Bread argued that the clause at issue should receive less scrutiny because it is restricted during the term of the franchise agreement rather than after its termination.

Read more at Blue MauMau

The Latest Scoop on Baskin-Robbins

Baskin-Robbins has had 31 flavors of ice cream for decades, but until recently it’s only had one kind of store. In an increasingly splintered consumer marketplace, the Canton-based ice cream chain now is hedging its bets. It’s trying out two new store concepts designed to appeal to value-conscious customers and more of an upscale demographic.

The latter concept, called Cafe BR, is getting a test run at Patriot Place in Foxboro. Baskin-Robbins is using the store as a proving ground for menu novelties such as ice cream bombes and chocolate-covered cheesecake on a stick.

The roots of Cafe BR trace to 2005, when the original concept store opened in Seoul, Korea.

“We came up with the cafe and people started socializing in our place to escape the harsh realities of the world,” said Srinivas Kumar, Baskin-Robbins’ chief global brand officer. “That’s how treat stores survive. Last year we said, ‘Why not bring it to the U.S.?’”

The cafe sells coffee and milk shakes, sundaes and specialty desserts. Most items cost $4 to $7, with top-end desserts such as chocolate fondue served with ice cream, cake and fruit selling for $11.99.

A ceiling-mounted projector shines the Baskin-Robbins logo around the room, and fuchsia walls are illustrated with dessert-eating characters. There’s a make-your-own-sundae bar where patrons can choose from a dozen toppings.

“It’s fun. It looks like what we think an ice cream shop should look like,” said Jane Wheeler of Foxboro, who bought her kids soft-serve ice cream cones during a weekday visit.

The high-end BR Cafe concept makes sense at locations such as lifestyle centers which tend to have numerous restaurants nearby, said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Chicago-based restaurant consultants Technomic. Industry research indicates that given the opportunity, people are likely to eat dessert at a different location than they have dinner.

While Baskin-Robbins experiments with high-end concepts, it’s also taking steps to rejuvenate its franchise growth with a new low-cost store model.

Baskin-Robbins has a strong international presence, with 6,000 stores spread among 35 countries, but its U.S. store count has been stagnant for much of the decade. At least 2,600 of the chain’s shops are in the U.S.

Earlier this month, Baskin-Robbins began soliciting franchises for its BR Express concept. The smaller stores were designed with today’s harsh economic conditions in mind.

BR Express stores will specialize in soft-serve ice cream available in unusual flavors such as pralines and cream and toppings such as “magic sprinkles” that change colors.

Read more at: Patriot Ledger

Dunkin’ Donuts Serves Up Another $100,000 in Scholarships

Attleboro resident Katherine Potter, North Attleboro resident Benjamin Chagnon, and Plainville resident Jessica Brooks were each awarded a $1,000 scholarship from the Dunkin’ Donuts Franchisees of Rhode Island and Southeastern Massachusetts recently, during a reception at the Rhode Island State House celebrating the 14th Annual Dunkin’ Donuts Scholarship Program.

Each year, Dunkin’ Donuts awards 100 high school seniors and college students from Rhode Island and Bristol County, Massachusetts, who excel academically, demonstrate leadership qualities, and are involved with the community. In the 14 years that local Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees have funded the program, more than $1.4 million in scholarships that have been awarded to area students to help further their education, demonstrating the franchisee’s long-standing commitment to supporting youth and education-based programs in the community.

“Now more than ever, hard working families are watching every penny, and we are pleased to have the opportunity to offer the Dunkin’ Donuts Scholarship to the students in our communities once again,” said Joe Prazeres, Dunkin’ Donuts franchisee and Chairman of the Dunkin’ Donuts Advertising Committee for the Providence market.  “We are so proud of this year’s recipients, and know that they will be successful in whatever paths they choose to follow.”

My Backyard

Starbucks Sets Eco-Friendly Goals for New Stores

Not just the logo will be green at Starbucks’ new stores. On Thursday, Starbucks announced that the company aims to earn LEED certification on all new company-owned stores beginning in 2010.

Among the company’s eco-friendly goals for all new company-owned stores are that 50 percent of each store’s energy be derived from renewable sources, and that they will be 25 percent more energy efficient. The company has set long-term goals including replacing all stores’ incandescent bulbs with LED bulbs and ensuring 100 percents of its cup supply is reusable or recyclable by 2015.

Beyond the energy-saving measures, the company aims to give its stores a more local feel. All new and renovated stores beginning in 2010 will tap the skills of local craftsmen and use materials associated with the store’s neighborhood.

One recently built store that reflects this new strategy is the company’s 1st Avenue and Pike Street store in Seattle, opened in March of 2009. The bar’s leather façade is made of scrap leather from local shoe and automobile factories, the cabinets from fallen trees in the Seattle area, and the community table from a nearby restaurant.

“We recognize the importance of continuously evolving with our customers’ interests, lifestyles and values in order to stay relevant over the long term,” said Arthur Rubinfeld, president of Starbucks Global Development, in a statement. “Ultimately, we hope customers will feel an enhanced sense of community, a deeper connection to our coffee heritage and a greater level of commitment to environmental consciousness.”

Brandweek

President of DDIFO Speaks to Blue MauMau

Jim Coen, the president and chief operating officer of Dunkin’ Donuts Independent Franchise Owners, discusses the importance of franchisee associations, Dunkin’ Brands and its future initiatives.

Mr. Coen was interviewed by Don Sniegowski of Blue MauMau

BMM: How big is your independent franchisee association in comparison to the Dunkin’ Donuts network?

Coen: There are approximately 8,000 Dunkin’ Donut stores worldwide. But in New England plus upstate New York, which is the geographic area of  DDIFO members, I think there’s something like 2500 stores. DDIFO has over 60 percent of those stores participating right now.

Let me explain.

Dunkin’ Donuts has a national distribution system cooperative, owned by franchise owners. That is referred to as a Distribution Commitment Partnership or DCP. All franchise owners purchase products from the DCP — all the tools, goods and services that are needed to operate a Dunkin’ Donuts. They are regional DCP’s in the Dunkin’ distribution system. The DDIFO office is located at the NEDCP in Bellingham, MA which services New England and upstate NY.

The DCP meets the specifications of the brand. So the brand is involved, but it has no investment or ownership, because Dunkin’ Brands operates no company stores. Now in other brands the coop is owned mutually, such as in Burger King and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Both brands operate company stores so they have an interest in the buying coop. A coop helps those firms to utilize the strength of franchise owners and the company owned stores – increasing buying power to produce the best possible product at the best possible price at the fairest cost of distribution.

BMM: That’s interesting. So the cooperative provides the product and the franchise system provides the business model. But where does DDIFO, or any franchise association, fit into that equation?

Coen: Franchise owners often are committed by contract to be franchisees for ten to twenty years. Hired management and executives of a franchise system are not necessarily as committed. Management changes. Franchisors are bought and sold. So a franchisee association’s number one mission is to protect the franchisee’s interest in the trademark for whatever may happen down the line. You never know when that trademark may be put up for sale or be part and parcel of a bankruptcy. There isn’t a franchise system out there that should not have an independent franchisee association, if only for that one reason: to have a structure when and if that brand goes up for play, whether it be sold, IPO or bankruptcy.

Actually the reason DDIFO was created in 1989 was because of a hostile takeover bid that came from a gentleman out of Canada. At that time Dunkin’s was a public company. He was attempting to buy stock to release the hidden value of the real estate. That’s why the franchisor and franchise owners created DDIFO. And eventually the hostile takeover was blocked.

DDIFO is an organization whose sole purpose is to help and protect the franchisee’s business and interests. We have no other purpose than to protect that significant asset.

Read More at Blue MauMau

Seeking the Best Coffee in a Popularity Contest

Carl Bialik, “The Numbers Guy” examines in the Wall Street Journal Blog the way numbers in survey’s are used, and abused.

He writes, when Zagat Survey announced earlier this month that Starbucks Corp. was the winner of its Fast Food Survey for best fast-food coffee, the Seattle coffee maker made the most of it, running an ad campaign, a press release and a blog post celebrating the designation.

The survey results caught the eye of Nate Silver, the baseball-numbers analyst turned political-numbers analyst whose site, fivethirtyeight.com, aggregated polls and other data to forecast President Obama’s electoral victory last November. Silver wasn’t sure how Zagat compiled votes in its online survey for best coffee, but figured that if the food-guide makers used their usual methodology, it might not mean that Starbucks is favored head to head over runner-up Dunkin’ Donuts, or third-place finisher Peet’s.

For Zagat’s city restaurant guides, diners submit their ratings to Zagat, which compiles the results. The more popular eateries get more votes. Since Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts are far more ubiquitous — about 7,000 U.S. locations each for Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts, compared to about 200 for Peet’s — far more votes were likely to have come from people who had tried the two big chains than their smaller rival. It could be that those who had tried all three preferred Peet’s, on balance, but their votes would be drowned out by the non-initiates to Peet’s, Silver noted.

I checked with Zagat, and it turns out the survey they used to rate fast-food restaurants was even tougher on the little guy than Silver imagined. “The designation of ‘Best Coffee’ was determined by how many people answered the question: ‘Which fast food chain has the best coffee?’ ” Nicholas Sampogna, a spokesman for Zagat, told me. Respondents were given a list of 30 chains that serve coffee, and the one with the most votes won. Since Peet’s has much lower name recognition — it has retail locations in only six states — it’s impressive that it won 9% of the vote, to 28% for Dunkin’ Donuts and 38% for Starbucks.

That the survey was more of a test of which chain has the most coffee-drinking consumers than which chain has the best coffee was reflected in the San Francisco results. There, where Starbucks’s edge in stores is narrower — roughly 66 to 23, according to the company Web sites — Starbucks beat Peet’s in the survey by a margin of just 50% to 30%.

Lara M. Wyss, a spokeswoman for Starbucks, told me it was “a bit of a false premise to assume that the number of our stores is the reason for the result,” noting that in other categories the winners didn’t always have the most stores. She added, “I’d like to think that the ranking reflects the quality of Starbucks coffee and the taste that millions of regular customers enjoy.”

Wall Street Journal Blogs

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