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Non-Tech : Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. (KKD) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jon Khymn who wrote (895)	7/30/2004 10:47:14 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 1001

Re : KKD (maybe) real cheap / S.E.C. inquiry -- I could have sworn that I remember KKD re-stating all sorts of stuff in the months after the Enron "we've been lying and cheating for a long time" - revelations. KKD said something like : These re-statements and clarifications are pointless, but in this period of investor hysteria (mid-2002), we will do them just to satisfy people, and remove any lack of clarity in our accounting. So, now KKD is supposed to be a bunch of crooks ? Jon. P.S. Does anyone else remember the 2002 re-statement stuff ?

To: Jon Khymn who wrote (895)	8/16/2004 5:53:16 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1001

WSJ -- Krispy Kreme's COO To Resign Next Month. August 16, 2004 3:53 p.m. Krispy Kreme's COO To Resign Next Month By MARK MAREMONT Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc.'s chief operating officer, John W. Tate, has submitted his resignation effective mid-September, a company spokeswoman said. Scott Livengood, Krispy Kreme's chief executive officer, will assume COO responsibilities, said Amy Hughes, the company spokeswoman. Ms. Hughes said Mr. Tate is resigning to pursue another opportunity in northern California. She declined to comment on market speculation that Mr. Tate would join Restoration Hardware Inc., which is based in Corte Madera, Calif. Mr. Tate's departure comes at a critical juncture for Krispy Kreme. Following several years of torrid growth, the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based chain has stumbled in recent months, reporting a slowdown in sales and its first-ever profit warning. Last month, it disclosed that the Securities and Exchange Commission had launched an informal inquiry into the way it has accounted for franchise buybacks, along with the circumstances surrounding the company's recent profit warning. Mr. Tate, 53 years old, joined Krispy Kreme in 2000 as its chief financial officer, and was named chief operating officer in 2002. Prior to that, he was chief financial officer at Williams-Sonoma Inc. and Dole Food Co. Krispy Kreme stock, which hit nearly $50 last year, changed hands at $13.32, down 25 cents, in late afternoon trading today on the New York Stock Exchange. Write to Mark Maremont at mark.maremont@wsj.com Copyright © 2004 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: Jon Khymn who wrote (895)	8/25/2004 1:02:24 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 1001

(Canada's) Tim Hortons doughnuts -- I finally tasted some (about a month ago). I was near Buffalo, NY, and took a quick day-trip to Canada; and went to a Tim Hortons near St. Catherines, Ontario. There are a LOT of Tim Hortons in Canada. (From their website) : The chain's focus on top quality, always fresh product and friendly, efficient customer service has helped make Tim Hortons one of North America's largest coffee and fresh baked goods chains. Today, Tim Hortons has more than 2,350 stores across Canada and a steadily growing base of 228 locations in key markets within the United States. ------------------------------------------------------------- I ordered a dozen, consisting of four types : glazed with chocolate topping glazed with maple topping powdered sugar covered, blueberry filled buttermilk or sour cream (I cannot remember which it was called) ----------------------------------------------------------- Comments on the box and the plastic bag : The box (for a dozen) was the horizontal kind (like the KKD one) (and NOT like the old Dunkin Donuts one) (although, I believe Dunkin Donuts has "come around" and copied the KKD type box) The box had cute pictures and graphics on it (things like old historical photos). But, as soon as they handed me the box, I thought : "Gee, this sure does not feel very sturdy." I asked for a plastic bag. They gave me a fairly small, flimsy white plastic bag (that did not look like it had been designed for carrying a big box). The bag did not have any carrying handles on it; so after I loaded the box inside (it did not fit 100% inside), I was fumbling around with the bag, and (without thinking) started carrying it in the vertical position. This, of course, made all of the doughnuts slide together toward the bottom. I felt them go "klunk," and then started carrying the bag in the horizontal position. This did not work well either. Luckily, on my way up to St. Catherines, I had also bought some doughnuts at a Krispy Kreme in Buffalo; and had one of those good, big KKD plastic bags (with plenty of room to add my one dozen Tim Hortons doughnuts). ----------------------------------------------------------- Taste : I was amazed that 3 out of 4 of the Tim Hortons doughnut varieties I had bought were pretty bad. The one that was good was the buttermilk or sour cream. IT was delicious, tasted home-made, and was clearly better than the similar variety at KKD. The other three all had this in common : the underlying doughnut tasted like bread (or, more specifically -- a dry roll left out too long on a table at a mediocre restaurant). There was no greasy, juicy consistency (what people secretly want in a doughnut, I think). ------------------------------------------------------------ "Shelf life" (at home) analysis : Almost every time I buy doughnuts (which is less than once a month), the doughnuts are not all eaten until at least 24 or 48 hours after purchase. ALL brands of doughnuts get more icky as they "age." But -- the Tim Hortons doughnuts became particularly disgusting. The chocolate topping melted off of the glazed with chocolate topping ones, and dripped through a hole in the corner of the box ! (Luckily, I had kept all Tim Hortons and KKD doughnuts in the KKD plastic bag). If anyone is wondering if the coefficient of "drip" for the Tim Hortons doughnuts is different from the normal KKD experience ... My answer is a resounding YES. For this particular "round" of doughnuts, I had some KKD glazed with chocolate topping ones still uneaten at the point when the Tim Hortons ones had done their drip thing. The KKD ones were fine. (I'll never know if the Tim Hortons glazed with maple topping ones would have dripped too, because those were all eaten quickly (on the day of purchase)). And furthermore (regarding the drip factor) (as it relates to the quality of the Tim Hortons cardboard box) -- by the time the Tim Hortons doughnuts were in drip "mode," the box was so saturated and soggy and saggy that you could not even lift it (the box) up with one hand, because it would droop and bend too much). This does not happen with KKD boxes (although, this is probably an unfair comparison, due to the relative lack of dripping or melting). -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I talked to some friends of mine who are originally from Canada. They told me that the big attraction of Tim Hortons is not the taste and quality of the doughnuts, but the fact that a Tim Hortons is a sort of cozy "gathering place," where you can hang out and "gab" for an hour or two. (This, I believe, is the secret behind Starbucks). (By the way, I have still never been to a Starbucks). Jon.

To: Jon Khymn who wrote (895)	12/3/2004 12:01:15 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1001

Police Follow Doughnut Trail, Solve Crime ..................................... December 3, 2004 HARRISBURG, Pa. - Police followed a trail of doughnuts to find a stolen Krispy Kreme delivery truck. "It has a happy ending," Swatara Township Sgt. Robert Simmonds said. "The evidence was brought back to the police station, and the cops are eating the doughnuts." It was 12:45 a.m. Thursday when Krispy Kreme deliveryman Tim Trostle stopped at a Swatara Township convenience store and left the engine running as he made the delivery. Someone fled with the truck, but since Trostle had left the back doors open, police were able to follow a trail of doughnuts. The doughnut trail ended before long, but police in a nearby township found a doughnut cart near the Harrisburg city line. City police found the truck near a downtown bar. No arrests were immediately made. The truck was returned to the company. Although Simmonds had been joking about police taking the contents of the truck, he acknowledged seeing Krispy Kreme doughnuts in a station conference room Thursday. "I suspect that the manager from the Krispy Kreme might have given us a little thank you for our efforts," he said. Copyright 2004. The Associated Press.