...CASE STUDY OF KRISPY KREME Just like their Donoughts the Krispy Kreme stock seemed irresistible when they went public in 2000. It was even named as IPO of the year and the Forbes named it as the company to look out for. But now it is just a firm with a market capitalization over 300 million. So what did Krispy Kreme did wrong to be in a situation like this. The decline of Krispy Kreme Donoughts Inc. with a market capitalization of over 3 billion to just over 300 million was due to the use of synthetic leases, repurchased franchises, disappointing joint venture results and due to the problems of earnings management. This paper argues that there were numerous warning signals in the doughnut franchisor’s accounting and managerial decisions that investors refused to take seriously as they bid the stock from its IPO price of $6 to its eventual peak of $50 on NYSE. There are lots of lessons that can be learned from this autopsy of the Krispy Kreme and might well make investors and auditors more wary about jumping on the next IPO bandwagon. They bought out a struggling Michigan franchisee and agreed to raise the purchase price from $26 million to $32 million so that the franchisee could afford to close two stores and to settle its overdue debts owed to Krispy Kreme, thus avoiding a bad debt loss. Why would so many large franchisees of a supposedly-successful chain want to get out of their investment when operations seemed to be going so well? As we see in the exhibit...
Words: 543 - Pages: 3
...Krispy Kreme Strategic Analysis: Introduction In 2003 Krispy Kreme was named by Fortune Magazine as “America’s Hottest Brand” and in 2004 they reported net income of $50 million. However over-expansion, an expensive store network, revelations of falsified financial reports and changing trends in diet have meant that Krispy Kreme revenues have declined by 50% between 2005 and 2010 The strategic problem considered is to analyse Krispy Kreme’s current operations and suggest recommendations for how this may be tailored for the UK market for long-term profitability given cultural and retail differences. Current strategy Krispy Kreme operates 582 stores (including franchised) in 18 countries worldwide. Stores range from 4,000 to 8,000 square feet and are generally located in freestanding suburban locations. They also operate smaller satellite stores, kiosks and sell directly through large retailers such as Tesco. Krispy Kreme is a vertically integrated business. Starting with their secret recipe, they make fresh doughnut mix each day, which is distributed to all stores. They manufacture their own doughnut and coffee machinery. Doughnuts are freshly made; they have a simple product line focused on doughnut variations and their own branded coffee (developed from the acquisition of Digital Java in 2001).In the UK Krispy Kreme operates a subsidiary (with a 34% equity interest) with an exclusive development licence to the franchise in the UK. Competition analysis Krispy Kreme operates...
Words: 2957 - Pages: 12
...Krispy Kreme Case Analysis Anthony Jachera, Salma Saeed, Chris Westendorf October 20th, 2014 Executive Summary This case analysis considers the sudden and very large drop in the market value of equity for Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (KKD) and pinpoints the causes behind the downfall of one of the hottest brands in America. Beginning with their highly successful IPO in April of 2000, KKD quickly rose to become one of the most successful companies in the United States. Customers and Wall Street simply could not get enough of the KKD brand and the company experienced significant growth and financial success from 2000 to 2003. The sudden downfall of KKD began when the company first announced adverse financial results in May of 2004. In July of 2004, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced they were launching an informal investigation into the company’s accounting practices. Both of these events caused investors and Wall Street to begin to change their opinions on KKD and brought to light several significant structural issues within the company. The following analysis reveals the root causes of KKD’s downfall which included overly aggressive growth goals, a poor operating structure, questionable accounting practices, and poor management decisions. Through analyzing KKD’s financial statements, key financial ratios, peer group benchmarking, and business plan, we can begin to clearly see several problems facing the company. Through our in-depth analysis, we have proposed...
Words: 3353 - Pages: 14
...CASE 8: KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS Krispy Kreme is a doughnut manufacturer and retailer that were founded in July of 1937. Within its seventy year life time KK went from a small rented out building in Winston-Salem, North Carolina to a global recognizable firm. Through that time KK has become a franchising company that has made changes within its life time. Most of the changes came in the late 1990s and early 2000s. A few years after those changes were made KK management realized that they had made a series of mistakes that gravely hurt the company. This paper will explain what caused the down fall of KK and how they should go about restoring their company. General Information After the company’s IPO KK announced to aggressively expand the number of its stores from 144 to 500 as well as grow internationally. KK revenues are made up of four sections: On-premises, franchised stores, sell (27% of revenues), Off-premises, grocery and convenience store, sells (40%), manufacturing and distribution of product mix and machinery (29%) and lastly franchisee royalties and fees (4%). Roughly sixty percent of all KK sells revenues come from their signature product, the glazed doughnut. This is very different than its number one competitor, Starbucks, whose main profit comes from coffee. The Problems Although the management team of KK made many mistakes there were two major issues as to why the company went downhill in 2003. The first major issue was the aggressive expansion which...
Words: 1072 - Pages: 5
... Ethics-Krispy Kreme Introduction The purpose of this case study is to analyze the accounting scandal at Krispy Kreme. "The Krispy Kreme story is one of a newly public company, experiencing rapid growth, that failed to meet its accounting and financial reporting obligations to its shareholders and the public,"(as cited in Maremont & Brooks, 2005). The senior managers were the ones who profited from this accounting scandal and the shareholders and the public suffered as a result. There are several prevention methods that can be taken to prevent this from occurring in the future. It will benefit Krispy Kreme to hire internal auditors who can report to management any regulations. Analysis Company Overview Krispy Kreme opened its first store July 13, 1937 in Winston-Salem, NC (Krispy Kreme). According to the Krispy Kreme website, “Vernon Rudolph bought a secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe from a New Orleans French chef, rented a building in what is now historic Old Salem in Winston-Salem, NC, and began selling Krispy Kreme doughnuts to local grocery stores”(Krispy Kreme). Krispy Kreme donuts can be found at many grocery stores with sixty personal stores around the United States. Krispy Kreme offers a fundraiser program for schools and churches. Krispy Kreme has expanded its business internationally “celebrating the 100th shop in Mexico” in 2013 (Krispy Kreme). Accounting Scandal “Former executives at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. who...
Words: 681 - Pages: 3
...case teaching note | 14 Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. Overview With 181 Krispy Kreme stores in 28 states, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts in 2001 was rapidly building something of a cult following for its light, warm, melt-in-your-mouth doughnuts. Sales were on an impressive climb, exceeding 3.5 million doughnuts a day. The company’s business model called for 20 percent annual revenue growth, mid-single digit comparable store sales growth, and 25 percent annual growth in earnings per share. Krispy Kreme had created a flurry of excitement with its expansion into metropolitan markets outside the Southeast—its grand openings in newly entered markets attracted long lines of customers and created traffic jams around its store sites. The first new store in San Diego racked up $365,000 in sales the first week, with 5 TV crews covering the opening day event. The first store in Denver produced first-week revenues of $369,000, drew 50,000 visitors, and had $1,000,000 in sales the first 22 days; the crowds were so large that three off-duty deputy sheriffs were hired to direct traffic from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. during the Tuesday-Saturday period of grand opening week—one night there were 150 cars in line at the drive-thru window at 1:30 a.m. But despite the enthusiastic reception that Krispy Kreme stores were getting, a number of securities analysts were dubious whether the company’s strategy and growth potential merited a stock price nearly 70 times projected 2002 earnings per share of $0.69 and 85 times...
Words: 8869 - Pages: 36
...Colton Higgins Case #7 Krispy Kreme Krispy Kreme Doughnut Inc. in 2000 was soaring high. The company was looking promising as the company stock was up after its IPO and the company was listed in Fortune Magazine. With a very ambitious goals in expansion the company seemed to be going in the right direction. The underlying problem in this case is that in 2004 the company began to reveal some discrepancy’s in their accounting department. KKD stock price tumbled which lead investors to start asking questions on what was going on within the company. Upbringings of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts show that the company has not always had immediate success. The original founder Vernon Rudolph created the first sales of doughnuts and thus the franchise was born. The company was bought out and the doughnuts redeveloped but this did not last long as the right of Krispy Kreme were soon sold to a group of franchisees. Success was not right off the bat after being reformed but eventually business started generating and the IPO in April of 2000 was one of most Impressive of its time. Growth and expansion was the biggest mission for KKD one they became public. They planned on having three times the amount of store they currently had open in the next five years. Continuing this further the company’s plan was to expand globally into Canada, Mexico, UK and Australia. The profits of the company came from four major areas in on premise sales, off premise sales, manufacturing and distribution, and...
Words: 536 - Pages: 3
...Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts began as a single doughnut shop in Winston Salem, North Carolina in 1937. By the start of the new millennium, Krispy Kreme was not only able to boast iconic status but nearly had a cult-like following. Less than a year after its initial public offering in April 2000, Krispy Kreme shares were selling for 62 times earnings. As it had a tremendous increase in bottom line and brand recognition, it formulated an aggressive strategy to expand. Its shops tripled from 2000 to 2004, with 427 stores in 45 states and four foreign countries. However, at the end of 2004, the company announced several accounting revelations, changing image of the company in Wall Street and plummeting its stock price in the market. On May 7, 2004, it indicated that its Hot Doughnut and Coffee Shops were falling short of expectations and that it had plans to close three of them (resulting in a charge of 7 to 8 million dollars). Following the news, the Wall Street Journal addressed the aggressive accounting treatment the company had made for franchise acquisitions. For instance, it purchased a struggling Michigan franchise, asked some of its underperforming stores to be closed, and agreed to pay the company’s accrued interest on past-due loans for it to raise its purchase price of the franchise. Then it recorded interest paid by the franchisee as interest income, and thus, immediate profit; however the company booked the purchase cost of the franchise as...
Words: 408 - Pages: 2
...Ishmael Armstrong sold Krispy Kreme to Vernon Rudolph’s father Plumie Rudolph. Second, in 1976 due to Vernon Rudolph’s death, the company was then sold to Beatrice Foods of Chicago. Third, in 1982 Joseph A McAleer Sr. who led a group of Krispy Kreme franchisee bought back Krispy Kreme from Beatrice Foods. Finally, Krispy Kreme Inc. became a publicly traded company in 2000 by joining the NASDAQ as well as joining NYSE in 2001. 3-18. What mistakes did Beatrice Foods make after purchasing Krispy Kreme? Why wasn't Krispy Kreme a good fit for Beatrice Foods? Krispy Kreme was a family oriented business where on the other hand, Beatrice Foods was the complete opposite causing it not to be a good fit for them. Beatrice Foods had a big-business approach where their focus was primarily on raising profits. Beatrice Foods made their first mistake by redesigning Krispy Kreme’s logo. Their second mistake was adding other foods to the menu such as soups, sandwiches and biscuits. Their third and worst mistake was altering the Krispy Kreme doughnut recipe in an effort to cut costs and improve revenue margin. 3-19. What opportunity did the franchise see in buying back Krispy Kreme rather than starting a new company from scratch? The opportunity that the franchise saw in buying back Krispy Kreme rather than starting a new company from scratch was because of the simple fact that Krispy Kreme came with history and a strong foundation. Consumers who once ate from Krispy Kreme associated the company...
Words: 612 - Pages: 3
...Krispy Kreme was the hottest brand in America in 2003, however, its stock price plummeted more than 80% in the next 16 months. What had happened to this company? Why investors suddenly fleeing the popular Krispy Kreme? Answer following questions will help us find the solutions. From the historical income statement and balance sheet, we notice that, from 2000 to 2004, the KK grew very fast and its net income increased substantially. For example, form 2003 to 2004, KK’s net income increased by 71%. In turn, the company experienced an increasing EPS which was rose from 0.15 to 0.92, and the price of company’s share jumped up by 120%. The historical income statement indicates that Krispy Kreme has a good profitability, a high market value and a high return. At the same time, the balance sheet reflects that the total asset grew very fast which was caused by the increase in accounts receivable, inventories and intangible asset. The company’s equity increased in an astonishing speed. In Feb. 2004, the shareholders’ equity is almost 10 times the equity in Jan.2000. The increasing equity and also indicates that Krispy Kreme was hot and successful in stock market. However, according to the recent income statement, KK’s profitability turned down sharply. Compared with the same periods in 2003, KK’s net income was deducted drastically by increased expense, discontinued operations and impairment charges &closing costs which arose in 2004. For instance, the company even had a 24 million...
Words: 1572 - Pages: 7
...Case 5-5 Krispy Kreme 1. In each round trip transaction, Krispy Kreme recognized additional income in an amount more or less equal to the funds that were paid back from the franchises. As a result, Krispy Kreme filed annual, quarterly, and current reports with the SEC that contained misstated financial results, failed to have books and records that accurately and fairly reflected its transactions and disposition of assets, and failed to set up and maintain internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that its accounts were accurately stated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. 2. Top management had devoted too little attention to establishing accounting controls and an appropriate tone at the top, and too much attention to meeting earnings expectations, which strongly suggested an intention to manage earnings. Management wanted to show that their company was making money through their franchises, so that the investor would purchase more stock and allow the company to grow. 3. The ethical issues facing Krispy Kreme for revenue recognition according to the theories (utilitarianism, rights and justice) that we have learned can be describes as: Utilitarianism: Krispy Kreme violated this theory due to the revenue that was recorded was never earned in this time period. Rights Perspective: The way Krispy Kreme accounted for the incorrect revenue, violated the rights of their shareholders since it was a public company and was...
Words: 325 - Pages: 2
...Integrated Visual Systems Shining the light on technology Krispy Kreme Doughnut case study Purchasing a secret yeast-raised doughnut recipe from a French chef in New Orleans, Vernon Rudolf opened the first Krispy Kreme in Winston-Salem, NC in July of 1937. The plan was to supply doughnuts to local grocery stores, but customers soon started inquiring about purchasing hot doughnuts. A hole was cut in a wall of the store and he started selling “Hot Original Glazed” doughnuts directly to customers. Currently, Krispy Kreme produces more than 7 million doughnuts a day. There are 357 retail stores in the US and Canada. All the ambient temperature ingredients and store supplies are shipped from the company’s distribution warehouses in NC, IL, and CA. In October 2002, they shipped their first load of mix to Australia and have added locations in the UK, Korea and Mexico. The original project, installed in March of 1999, automated what was at that time the lone distribution warehouse in Winston-Salem, NC. The goal was to eliminate the manual/paper-based system and go to a real-time, RF-based pick and ship process. Krispy Kreme runs the Macola Progression Series ERP system and needed a WMS that would interface directly to it and provide updates on a real-time basis for inventory, order status, etc. To accomplish the task, IVS developed a Macola interface module that posts transactions to Macola as they occur in the warehouse. ““We have seen an ROI in labor reductions, freight savings...
Words: 1468 - Pages: 6
...Krispy Kreme Case Study FINA 470-01 Strategic Financial Management Company Overview: Krispy Kreme is a retailer and wholesaler of “high quality doughnuts and packaged sweets” (2010 10-K report) as well as various beverages. Krispy Kreme consists of stores and franchises that include domestic and international franchises, company stores and the KK Supply Chain. Krispy Kreme is also the sole provider to all their stores and franchises of the ingredients and equipment needed for store operations via the KK Supply Chain. Notably, neither equipment nor ingredients can be purchased from any other vendor and thus the franchises/stores are completely dependent upon Krispy Kreme. Vernon Rudolph acquired the Krispy Kreme recipe from a New Orleans chef and moved to Nashville and opened his own doughnut shop in 1937. Initially selling to grocery stores, he ended up cutting a hole in the building to sell to passersby who inquired about buying hot donuts directly from the bakery. Mr. Rudolph patented Krispy Kreme in 1939. Family members joined the bakery to help Rudolph meet rising demand for his doughnuts. Rudolph invented and built all his donut making equipment. To date, the company still uses only company made equipment. Other stores started popping up around the south in the 1950s and 1960s as the company quickly expanded. Rudolph died in 1973 and as the company began to flounder, it was sold to Beatrice Foods in 1976. Original franchisees repurchased the company...
Words: 8117 - Pages: 33
...and fall of Krispy Kreme is a cautionary tale of ambition, greed, and inexperience. What could be more perfect than a Krispy Kreme doughnut? Hot from the fryer and loaded with sugar, the Original Glazed is practically irresistible. For a time, Krispy Kreme's stock seemed irresistible, too. When the company went public in April 2000, at the peak of the Internet whirlwind, investors flocked to buy into a business they could understand. An old-fashioned franchise based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc. boasted solid fundamentals, adding stores at a rapid clip and showing steadily increasing sales and earnings. But Krispy Kreme also had a mystique. Its doughnuts, available for many years only in the Southeast, had attracted a devoted, even fanatical, customer base. When the company decided to go national, it opened franchises in locations guaranteed to generate buzz — Manhattan, Los Angeles, Las Vegas — and customers lined up around the block. By August 2003, KKD was trading at nearly $50 on the New York Stock Exchange, up 235 percent from its initial public offering price of $21 on Nasdaq, and Fortune magazine was calling Krispy Kreme the "hottest brand in the land." For the fiscal year ended in February 2004, the company reported $665.6 million in sales and $94.7 million in operating profit from its nearly 400 locations, including stores in Australia, Canada, and South Korea. And then, just as rapidly as its popularity spiked, Krispy Kreme pitched into...
Words: 3557 - Pages: 15
...key success factors for Krispy Kreme? Krispy Kreme is a most popular food company in America. There are some key factors of Krispy Kreme to be most strong brand in America. Those are given below: • Old fashioned feel –They have been adopting one tradition for long time serving food to the customers which has worked as brand symbol. • Theater experience works – They perform different types of theater which entertains customs and draws them into the donut-making experience . Showing the manufacturing process – They invite to the people come to see how donuts are freshly made in a clean environment . So that, people are more attractive to buy donuts . • Concern with country people – Krispy Kreme dose not work with franchise. They busy with own country people to serve donuts so that maintaining the best food quality. People buy donut more for the best quality. • Following different way to convince media – Sending boxes of donuts into television media as gift which is one of strategy to bring out of publicity. • Selling in half price – Krispy Kreme is selling donut in half price in charity shows. But charity shows organizer sell donuts at same price .That is why Donuts became popular very frequently. Because people are getting donuts at same price as outside of charity shows. 2.Where is Krispy Kreme vulnerable? What should it watch out for? Krispy Kreme vulnerable into their international...
Words: 447 - Pages: 2
