Good day took caribou location in airport departure

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts has agreed to a $1.35 billion takeover by a subsidiary of JAB, a private holding company owned and operated by four billionaire siblings who have cobbled together the world’s largest coffee conglomerate. Krispy Kreme adds to a list of JAB purchases that includes the Peet’s, Caribou Coffee, Intelligentsia, and Stumptown coffee businesses, along with Keurig Green Mountain (JAB led the investor group that acquired the capsule coffee maker in March for $13.9 billion). The holding company is run by members of Austria’s billionaire Reimann family, who built their wealth running a German chemicals concern. Krispy Kreme had long been a staple in the southern US, and was expanding beyond it at breakneck speed a decade ago. But the aggressive expansion took a toll on quality control, and on the brand’s cult status. In recent years, the North Carolina-based chain, which has more than 1,100 locations, tried pushing its way into Starbucks territory, in an attempt to align its low-key donut concept with higher-brow coffee culture. In late 2015, several Krispy Kreme locations even began referring to their staff as “baristas,” who would take customer names as they ordered. But growth remained stubbornly slow, and an international push didn’t do much to help turn the tide. “JAB’s experience and industry knowledge make them the ideal partner to help grow the iconic Krispy Kreme brand throughout the world,” Krispy Kreme CEO Tony Thompson said in a statement. JAB will pay $21 in cash for each share of Krispy Kreme, a 25% premium to their May 6 closing price. Krispy Kreme shares jumped to $20.96 in midmorning trading in New York. This isn’t the first change in ownership for the doughnut company, which was founded in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in July 1937, and went on to flourish in the southeast US through the 1950s and 1960s. It was acquired by Chicago-based Beatrice Foods in 1976, then bought back by a group of franchisees in 1982.

Dubai: Caribou Coffee is on an aggressive expansion streak that will see the popular coffee shop brand operating over 350 stores in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey region by 2021. In an interview with Khaleej Times, Hamad Al Sayer, managing director of Al Sayer Franchising Company, which has the regional franchising rights for the brand, explained that the brand’s expansion had consistently been on the cards for a while. “We have been performing extremely well over the past eight to nine years,” said Al Sayer. “We have been recording a double-digit growth in the Mena region this year, and over the past five years. Currently, we have around 180 stores in the region and as a brand have been successful in serving the best-quality coffee to our customers.” Highlighting the brand’s expansion in the UAE, Al Sayer said that Caribou Coffee will have a total of 53 stores in the country by the end of this year. “We have store openings scheduled in Ajman, Al Ain, and Dubai. Our aim is to open 60 stores in the UAE by 2015. Most of our stores are located in Dubai, but we are looking to open several more stores in the other emirates as well,” he said. “We have around 33 stores in Turkey currently, with three more opening by the end of this year.” “Expansion has constantly been on the cards,” he added. “If you believe in the brand, you have to constantly take it forward and expand it. Caribou’s expansion has been going on steadily and consistently. Our vision is to be everywhere that our customers want us to be. We want to take that step forward and be ready for our customers before they come to us.” Asked what made Caribou Coffee different from its competitors, Al Sayer said: “Everybody on our team loves what they are doing, and always try to aim for perfection. We try to be close to our customers on how they want their food and coffee served, and on what they want to see in our stores. For instance, we noticed that a lot of people were looking for healthier eating options so we added a lot of healthy eating ranges on our menu, and we increased the number of salads we offer. In addition, customers can also get gluten free and lactose free options on our menus.” Al Sayer also stressed that the company followed a very customer-centric approach. The best thing to do is to put yourself into the customers’ shoes and understand what they really want, he stated. Recently, the company decided to include Dream Factory Bakery products by Cheesecake Factory on their menu. “We added the Dream Factory products to our bakery division,” Al Sayer said, adding that the brand was always looking for new ways to innovate. “Our latest innovation is the Blended Cupcake Snowdrift; you can now drink a cupcake. We originally started with the Red Velvet flavour snowdrifts, and now have Peanut Butter and Fudgy Wudgy Chocolate blended cupcake snowdrifts. We are trying to bring in more and more innovative products every year,” he said. The coffee shop also launched its holiday campaign on November 1. The holiday menu this year features the new Gingersnap Cookie Mocha, as well as a returning favourite, the Spicy Mocha. Other additions on the festive holiday menu include the holiday turkey sandwich, which is served with cranberry sauce, and the traditional red velvet cheesecakes and holiday cookies. “Some of our products became so popular that we decided to make them a permanent addition to our menu. The Salted Caramel Mocha is one example,” Al Sayer revealed. “Our seasonal campaigns give us a chance to test the public’s reaction to a new menu item and if the response is great, we decide on adding it to our fixed menu.” Al Sayer also revealed that Caribou Coffee was launching its mobile app, that will be available by the third quarter of 2015, on both iOS and Android devices. “The most important things in this business are mobile devices and coffee,” he joked. “No, but seriously, this is the way of the future. Mobile phones are now a necessity and we are constantly looking for ways to get closer to our customers. You have to adapt, and adapt quickly since technology is evolving at a very fast pace.” Asked about Caribou’s future targets, Al Sayer said: “We are pushing double digit growth aggressively and will continue to see it as such in the coming years. We are optimistic on our growth and are constantly raising the bar, when it comes to what our customers expect of us.” rohma@khaleejtimes.com

On today’s menu: bagels, with a Wall Street buyout. The Einstein Noah Restaurant Group, whose bagel shops include Einstein Brothers Bagels, Noah’s New York Bagels and Manhattan Bagel, said on Monday that it would sell itself to JAB Holding Company, a German conglomerate formerly called Joh. A. Benckiser, for about $374 million. The price of $20.25 a share in cash represents a 47 percent premium over Einstein Noah’s 30-day average trading price, the company said. Shares of Einstein Noah, listed under the ticker symbol BAGL, shot up 50 percent at the start of trading on Monday, to $20.11 a share. The deal, in theory, could yield some breakfast-oriented synergies. The buyer, an investment vehicle for the wealthy Reimann family of Germany, already controls a coffee empire: Through three deals in 2012 and 2013, it acquired Peet’s Coffee & Tea, Caribou Coffee and D.E Master Blenders. But JAB’s interests are not confined to the most important meal of the day. It also owns shoe brands like Jimmy Choo and Bally, and has a majority stake in the beauty company Coty. Einstein Noah will remain headquartered in Lakewood, Colo., should the deal close. And it said it would operate as a stand-alone business in the JAB portfolio. Michael Tattersfield, the chief executive of Caribou Coffee, would become Einstein Noah’s chairman. David Einhorn, whose hedge fund is Einstein Noah’s largest shareholder, with a stake above 35 percent, said he supported the sale to JAB. He called the deal a “win-win for all parties.” “For more than a decade, we have worked closely with the Einstein Noah Restaurant Group to execute a turnaround plan, reducing debt and expanding its store footprint,” Mr. Einhorn said in a statement. “J.A.B. is an experienced firm that will lead Einstein Noah Restaurant Group into its next phase of growth.” The deal has been approved by the bagel maker’s board but is subject to a majority of investors tendering their shares. Mr. Einhorn’s hedge fund, Greenlight Capital, plans to tender its shares in support of the deal. E. Nelson Heumann, the chairman of Einstein Noah, said in a statement that the deal would help the company “continue to revitalize our brand, enhance our nationwide footprint and solidify our position as the leader in the fresh-baked bagels industry.” BDT Capital Partners, a merchant bank in Chicago run by Byron D. Trott, is a minority investor in the deal alongside JAB. The bank, along with Citigroup, also provided advice to JAB, while Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom provided legal advice. Einstein Noah was advised by Stifel and the law firm Alston & Bird.

Dubai: The premium coffee chain operator and the second largest in the US after Starbucks, Caribou, is finally brewing the right mix of locations across its Middle East network. “In the past there was an issue getting the right locations as Caribou was not a known brand compared with some of the other names already present here ... that’s changing now,” said Hamad Al Sayer, managing director at Al Sayer Retail Est, a Kuwaiti group which has the regional franchisee rights. “But I agree that we have to be much faster with our retail presence rollout.” Even while facing down scepticism from prospective landlords, Caribou has still managed to plant a presence in 140 locations and which Al Sayer wants to raise to 170 outlets by 2015. That could be anywhere from a 1,000 square metre supersized outlet to a 16 square metre “condensed area”. All of the leading international coffee chain brands are in expansion mode, with Tim Hortons being particularly aggressive in seeking out new locations. Of late, local F & B groups such as Diamond Hospitality have also been experimenting with slightly more upscale café concepts, while the Danube Group, primarily into building materials, intends to steam ahead with the Cha Cha Chai tea outlets. “Tim Hortons coming in shook up the market radically and showed there was potential for new offerings within premium coffee options,” said Al Sayer. “For our expansion, we intend to be aggressive, but will not commit to any location that does not make economic sense — we are not interested in losing money.” Interestingly, there is a Gulf flavour to Caribou Coffee’s back story. The Bahraini bank Arcapita held a stake in the entity until late 2011. More recently, in December 2012, Germany’s Joh. A. Benckiser Group (JAB) announced a merger under which an affiliate acquired Caribou for $340 million. JAB’s other interests include upscale labels such as Bally and Jimmy Choo. “Under JAB’s ownership, there’s a clear mandate to grow the Caribou brand and have enough allocations to support those expected growth levels,” said Al Sayer. “Saudi Arabia and Turkey represent the biggest opportunities to take the brand forward — we already have 25 locations in Turkey. “There could be other F & B concepts Al Sayer Retail could take up ... but again it will be a gradual step. We are not interested in being a brand collector.”

Caribou Coffee entered the Kuwaiti market in 2005 after signing an exclusive franchise agreement with Al-Sayer Imtiazat General Trading and Contracting . Caribou is currently under the legal umbrella of Gulf Coffee Co. for Restaurant Management WLL which is also owned by Al-Sayer family. Despite the 6 years lag from its main competitor Starbuck in the Kuwaiti market, Caribou proved itself as a strong competitor in the selected locations, coffee and outlet standards, and marketing campaigns.