| [Edit]
Dunkin' Donuts is an international coffee and doughnut retailer founded in 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts by William Rosenberg. It claims to be the "world's largest coffee and baked goods chain," serving 2.7 million customers per day at 6200 stores globally *. This figure compares with the 10,800 stores of coffee chain Starbucks, whose baked goods are usually prepared out of shop. Most Dunkin' Donuts stores are franchises.
Dunkin' Donuts, along with Togo's and Baskin-Robbins, is owned by Dunkin' Brands Inc. (previously Allied Domecq Quick Service Restaurants, a part of Allied Domecq). Dunkin' Brands was owned by French beverage company, Pernod Ricard S.A. after it purchased Allied Domecq. They reached an agreement in December 2005 to sell the brand to a consortium of three private equity firms, Bain Capital Partners, the Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners, with the deal expected to close in the first quarter of 2006.
In the U.S., Dunkin' Donuts is often paired with Togo's sandwich shops (sometimes called Dunkin' Deli) and Baskin-Robbins ice cream shops (especially in the Chicagoland and New York City areas). Most of their business competition comes from small locally owned stores, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, Starbucks, and Southern Maid; in Canada and parts of the Great Lakes region, Tim Hortons is a major competitor. Mister Donut had been its largest competitor in the United States before the company was bought by Dunkin' Donuts' parent company. The Mister Donut stores rebranded as Dunkin' Donuts.
In the province of Quebec, Canada, Dunkin' Donuts is operated completely by Alimentation Couche-Tard.
Dunkin' Donuts
History
Culture
Locations
| | Company Name | Dunkin Brands Inc. | | Company Logo | Image:Dunkin Donuts Logo.png | | Company Type | Private | | Company Slogan | America Runs on Dunkin | | Foundation | In 1950 in Quincy, Massachusetts | | Location | Quincy, Massachusetts | | Key People | Jon Luther, Chief Executive Officer | | Num Employees | unknown | | Industry | Restaurants | | Products | Coffee
doughnut (food) | | Revenue | profit$3.6 billion United States dollar |
| |
top
History
In 1946, William Rosenberg founded Industrial Luncheon Services as a company to deliver meals and "coffee break snacks" to customers in the outer reaches of Boston, Massachusetts. His business saw success and Rosenberg soon followed by opening up his first coffee and donut shop called, "The Open Kettle." In 1950 he opened the first store known as "Dunkin' Donuts," which is still standing today at 543 Southern Artery in Quincy, Massachusetts. Grant Benson is the current Vice President of Dunkin' Donuts Eastern Development and works out of their global headquarters in Randolph, Massachusetts.
Since the late 1990s, Dunkin' Donuts has encouraged the distribution of franchises among Brazilian immigrant families. While the ethics of the company's motives have frequently been called into question, this has proven a lucrative decision for Dunkin' Donuts. However, numerous investigations are currently pending regarding the practice of hiring illegal immigrants as undocumented workers at these franchises.
top
Culture
|
Frequently on TV sitcoms in the US, when a character has a box of doughnuts, it will feature a generic logo very similar to Dunkin Donuts' logo because it is instantly recognized as a "box of doughnuts." The box will generally read "DONUTS DONUTS."
In 1972, Dunkin' Donuts started to sell Munchkins, miniature spherical-shaped "doughnut holes" individually bought in boxes of 25 or 50. Usually, in every Dunkin' Donuts shop, they would have the flavors Plain, Jelly-Filled, Chocolate Glazed, Cinnamon, Powdered, and Glazed Cake. Others would have another type, such as Sprinkled, Apple, or Bavarian Kreme. In 2001, the franchise sold over 700 million Munchkins. Munchkins are likely named after the dwarf-sized characters that appeared in the classic 1939 film The Wizard of Oz.
Dunkin' Donuts also has a close relationship with two Boston-area professional sports teams: the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots. Dunkin' Donuts makes new commercials at the start of each team's season for promotions.
One of the more memorable Dunkin' Donuts commercials in 2005 featured former Red Sox center fielder Johnny Damon actually using a wig for his infamous "caveman look," with the club's general manager, Theo Epstein walking in, seeing Damon, and trying (ultimately failing) to restrain his laughter, since he has seen Damon bald and using a wig for his caveman look. Damon replies by saying, "Promise me you will NOT tell anyone." Epstein gets Damon's Caramel Swirl with Whipped Cream iced latte as compensation.
The commercial made for the Patriots at the start of the 2005-2006 NFL season featured wide receiver and cornerback Troy Brown. The commercial portrayed Brown as being able to do just about anything, including making a new Super Bowl XXXIX ring for team owner Robert Kraft, parodying the incident between Kraft and Russian President Vladimir Putin in which Putin somehow got Kraft's Super Bowl ring during Kraft's visit to Russia. Kraft let Putin keep it.
In 2005 Saturday Night Live had Amy Poheler say during the Weekend Update skit, that she had always dreamed of opening up her own kind of restaurant called "Dunkin Dognuts," which was followed by a copy of the Dunkin Donuts' logo edited to match her phrase.
Since Dunkin' Donuts changed their slogan in 2006 to "America Runs on Dunkin'," They Might Be Giants songs have been featured in an ongoing series of advertisements of Dunkin' Donuts new products to boost summer sales.
|
top
Locations
|
|
