Description
Krispy Kreme, Inc. is an American doughnut company and coffeehouse chain.
Krispy Kreme was founded by Vernon Rudolph, who bought a yeast-raised recipe from a New Orleans chef, rented a building in 1937 in what is now historic Old Salem in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and began selling to local grocery stores. Steady growth preceded an ambitious expansion as a public company in the period 2000 to 2016, which ultimately proved unprofitable. In 2016, the company returned to private ownership under JAB Holding Company, a private Luxembourg-based firm. In July 2021, Krispy Kreme became publicly traded again on the Nasdaq.
International operations
The first Krispy Kreme store to open outside North America was in Penrith, Australia, in Sydney. At first, the operation was successful, opening 53 other stores around the country. However, as of November 1, 2010, the entire Australian division went into voluntary administration, with media reports attributing this to poor sales. They have since come out of administration as of December 2010, and continued trading, with fewer stores. Since 2012, Krispy Kreme doughnuts have been available through all 7-Eleven stores in the eastern states of Australia after announcing partnership with Krispy Kreme Australia in late 2011. The second Krispy Kreme store that was opened internationally was in the United Kingdom and was in Harrods department store London. It closed in June 2011. As of 2018 there are over 100 stand alone Krispy Kreme stores in the UK, with a further 500 within Tesco stores. Besides the stores that Krispy Kreme operate in the United States and Canada, there are also locations in Egypt, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Lebanon, Turkey, India, Dominican Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Kuwait, Mexico, Panama, Russia, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Japan, Singapore, Cambodia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Colombia and Ethiopia.
In August 2011, Krispy Kreme's Japan operation planned to increase the number of stores from 21 to 94, and its Mexico operation announced the number of stores would increase from 58 to 128 in five years. In the United Kingdom, Krispy Kreme continues its expansion and had plans and funding in place to open further stores in 2012. In South Korea, their first store opened on December 16, 2004, and celebrated their 100th store opening exactly ten years later, on December 16, 2014. As of September 2016, they hold the most stores in the Asia-Pacific region with 129 stores. Krispy Kreme opened its first store in India on January 19, 2013, in Bangalore, Karnataka. The stores are operated by Citymax Hotels India under a franchise arrangement. So far, there are 5 stores opened in Bangalore, with two more in development. On July 23, 2014, Krispy Kreme has launched its first shop in Chennai, India at Express Avenue mall.
On September 25, 2013, Krispy Kreme announced the opening of 25 stores, all within 5 years, in Colombia. This marks the first South American country for the company. In October 2014, Krispy Kreme opened another store at Colombia in Bogotá and Chía, Cundinamarca. On December 12, 2013, Krispy Kreme opened its first store in Taipei, Taiwan.
On October 10, 2014, Krispy Kreme opened another store at HSR Layout in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. On November 26, 2014, Krispy Kreme opened their first store in Western Australia with a new store opening in Whitfords, Western Australia.
On May 18, 2015, Krispy Kreme announced it has signed a development agreement with KK Doughnuts SA (Pty) Ltd., to open 31 Krispy Kreme shops in South Africa over the next five years. This marked the company's first venture into Africa. On September 10, 2015, Krispy Kreme signed a development agreement with Agape Coral, SAC to open 24 shops over the next five years in Peru. On November 25, 2015, Krispy Kreme opened its first store in Rosebank, Johannesburg, South Africa. On December 2, 2015, Krispy Kreme opened its largest store in the United Kingdom in Glasgow, Scotland.
On May 5, 2016, Krispy Kreme opened their first store in Bangladesh at Banani in Dhaka. On July 27, 2016, Krispy Kreme was acquired by JAB Beech. Under the terms of the transaction, company shareholders received $21 per share in cash for each share they own. As a result of the completion of the acquisition, Krispy Kreme's common stock ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange. On November 5, 2016, Krispy Kreme opened its first store in Kópavogur, Iceland.
On January 12, 2017, Krispy Kreme opened its first store in Panama City, Panama.
On January 27, 2018, Krispy Kreme opened its first store in Guatemala City, Guatemala. On February 28, 2018, Krispy Kreme opened its first store in Manukau, Auckland, New Zealand. On March 10, 2018, Krispy Kreme opened its first store in Ikeja City Mall, Lagos, Nigeria. On September 26, 2018, Krispy Kreme opened its first store in Dublin, Ireland, which has since become the most profitable store worldwide.
