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 UNITED STATES FRANCHISE NEWS ARCHIVE
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: : Apr 2000
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13 of 17 Newcomers Hail from NASDAQ Territory. Cheeseburger
aficionados took note a few years ago when McDonald's gave up counting
the number of burgers it had sold worldwide and replaced the tally
beneath the trademark golden arches with "billions and billions sold."
.... 30 Apr, 2000
INTEREST - Noah's Bagel Seeks Bankruptcy Protection; 74 Stores
Closed. Struggling Einstein / Noah Bagel Corp., the country's
largest bagel chain, filed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy petition Thursday
and shuttered 74 of its stores around the country in an attempt to
unburden itself from a mountain of debt. .... 28 Apr, 2000
Marriott Sells 14 Assisted Living Communities. Hotel
company Marriott International Inc. said Friday it sold 14 Brighton
Gardens assisted living communities to affiliates of Wolverine Equities
Co. for about $194 million in cash. .... 28 Apr, 2000
AutoNation Hires Successor for Chief Financial Officer.
AutoNation Inc., the largest U.S. automobile retailer, said it hired
Craig Monaghan from IVillage Inc., which runs a network of Internet
sites for women, as chief financial officer. .... 27 Apr, 2000
Cendant CEO files to sell $16 mln in stock. Cendant
Corp. chief executive Henry Silverman plans to sell $16 million worth
of shares in the real estate and travel franchising company, according
to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. .... 27 Apr, 2000
Tricon Global Q1 profits rise on overseas growth. Tricon
Global Restaurants Inc., the parent of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC,
on Wednesday posted a 20 percent rise in first-quarter operating results,
ahead of expectations, driven by growth overseas and cost-cutting
measures. .... 26 Apr, 2000
Retail Center Rising Near Downtown. When the Chesterfield
Square shopping center opens in December at Western Avenue and Slauson
Boulevard, another center is slated to be completed just west of downtown
Los Angeles in an area also considered underserved by supermarkets
and other retail stores. .... 25 Apr, 2000
Poking Holes in Krispy Kreme, and Bursting Topps' Bubble. Stock
Exchange lets readers listen in as Times staff writers James Peltz
and Michael Hiltzik debate merits of Krispy Kreme .... 25 Apr, 2000
Big Retailers Bet Big on the Inner City. The largest
commercial development to be built in South-Central Los Angeles in
more than a decade will soon test a premise long held dear by urban
planning theorists - that large companies can turn a tall profit in
the inner city. .... 25 Apr, 2000
Uni-Marts buys 43 Pennsylvania convenience stores. Uni-Marts
Inc. said Monday it purchased 43 convenience stores and related gasoline
stations from Orloski Service Station Inc. for about $41 million.
.... 24 Apr, 2000
Getty dealers to test Precision Auto franchises. Getty
Petroleum Marketing Inc. said on Monday it will test Precision Auto
Care Inc.'s franchise systems at Getty service stations in New England.
.... 24 Apr, 2000
Coffee Beanery's Founder Sniffed a Trend Early On. Inside
the Coffee Beanery's unassuming headquarters, where the air is thick
with the fragrance of coffee, one white wall seems a little off. It's
dotted with picture-hanging hooks - but no pictures hang from them.
The artwork that once was there now graces a new Coffee Beanery franchisee's
store - on loan from company President JoAnne Shaw, one of her many
efforts to help her franchisees succeed. .... 23 Apr, 2000
McDonalds in $1bn stock buy-back. McDonalds is pouring
a further $1bn into buying back its own stock, to take advantage of
the 25 per cent slide in its share price since November. .... [more]
20 Apr, 2000
McDonald's Tops Estimates by a Penny. The world's largest
fast-food franchise, McDonald's , beat analysts' forecast Thursday,
with net income rising 12 percent from stronger Asian demand for its
burgers, fries and Hello Kitty promotions. .... 20 Apr, 2000
Alice Sheets Marriott Dies. Alice Sheets Marriott,
92, who helped her husband, restaurant and hotel magnate J. Willard
Marriott Sr., turn a small root beer stand on a Washington street
corner into a family of companies that evolved into the vast Marriott
corporate empire, died April 17 at Georgetown University Hospital
of complications after a stroke. .... [more]
19 Apr, 2000
Woman Killed by Bomb at French McDonalds's. A bomb
blast killed a woman employee at a McDonald's fast food restaurant
in the western French town of Dinan on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry
said. .... 19 Apr, 2000
Starbucks to Open Hong Kong Stores. Starbucks Coffee
International said Wednesday it has has teamed up with local food
and beverage company, Maxim's Caterers Ltd. (Hong Kong), to open retail
stores in Hong Kong. .... 19 Apr, 2000
Putting the Sizzle back in McDonald's. McDonald's has
rolled out a mahor overhaul, called made for you, that customizes
orders and eliminates the batches of sitting burgers that drove customers
away. .... 16 Apr, 2000
McDonald's 1st-Quarter Sales up 9 Percent. Reported
year-to-date sales, which reflect the impact of currency translations,
increased 8 percent over the first quarter of 1999. In the United
States, sales were $4.505 billion, a 5 percent increase. .... 13 Apr, 2000
Unilever gorges on ice cream and slimming foods. The
Unilever consumer products group yesterday splashed out £1.6bn on
two big US brand names - one which piles on the pounds and a second
which helps overweight consumers fight the flab. .... [more]
13 Apr, 2000
Property fight brews for Dunkin' Donuts. A historical
house in the center of Laconia may be razed to make room for a Dunkin'
Donuts parking lot. .... 13 Apr, 2000
$326m sale makes it Ben, Jerry $ Unilever. But world's
top consumer products company says ice cream maker's good deeds won't
end. .... 13 Apr, 2000
Eateries, Inc. Signs Multi-Unit Franchising Agreement. Under
this new multi-unit agreement, Dolson will open three additional Garfield's,
one per year for the next three years, in the Indiana area, beginning
with Evansville. .... 13 Apr, 2000
Phoenix Restaurant Group Receives Letters of Intent to Sell
Remaining 97 Denny's for Approximately $76 Million. Through
its advisor, CNL Advisory Services, and a three-month bid and due
diligence process, various buyers have submitted offers for varying
numbers of restaurants. .... 13 Apr, 2000
March Retail Sales Surpass Expectations. U.S. retail
stores posted bigger business gains than expected in March despite
a steep falloff in new-car sales. .... 13 Apr, 2000
Marriot's Profit Edges Forecast. Marriott International
Inc. on Thursday day said its first-quarter 2000 diluted earnings
per share edged the consensus forecast by a penny before the impact
of a one-time charge. .... 13 Apr, 2000
Ben & Jerry“s Agrees to Be Acquired by Unilever. Ben
& Jerry's, the quirky Vermont-based ice cream company that made advancing
socially responsible policies a crucial part of its business strategy,
agreed early Wednesday to be acquired by Unilever PLC, a $50 billion
global giant that already owns the Breyer's and Good Humor ice cream
brands. .... 13 Apr, 2000
Burger King Plans New TV Campaign. Hoping to revive
sales and placate its franchisees, Burger King on Wednesday unveiled
a new television ad campaign using the voice of actress Kathleen Turner
and a new catch-phrase: "Got the urge?" .... 12 Apr, 2000
Unilever scoops up Ben & Jerry's. Unilever is to buy
Ben & Jerry's ice cream company in a deal worth £203m ($326m). ....
[more]
12 Apr, 2000
Ben & Jerry's and Unilever to Join Forces in Ice Cream. Ben
& Jerry's Homemade, Inc. and Unilever, have agreed to a unique and
ground-breaking combination in which Ben & Jerry's will join forces
with Unilever to create an even more dynamic, socially positive ice
cream business with global reach. .... 12 Apr, 2000
Unilever's new focus on healthy foods. While Thursday's
headlines will focus on Unilever's acquisition of Ben & Jerry's, the
socially conscious maker of exotic ice cream flavours such as Cherry
Garcia and Phish Food, it is the purchase of Slimfast dietary products
that is more significant in the evolution of the Anglo-Dutch consumer
giant. .... [more]
12 Apr, 2000
Unilever to Buy Slim-Fast, Ben & Jerry's. .... 12 Apr, 2000
Ben & Jerry's Takeover Is Seen Close. .... 12 Apr, 2000
Burger King Says it's Not For Sale, Franchisees 'Confident.'
Under pressure from restaurant owners, Burger King said Tuesday that
it is not for sale and believes that most franchisees are confident
about a $500 million plan to help revitalize the brand. .... 12 Apr, 2000
Bold bid on cooker at Burger King. In a radical expression
of dissatisfaction with company management, franchisees of Burger
King are seeking to buy the hamburger chain from its British parent,
Diageo. .... 12 Apr, 2000
Wendy's International, Inc. Reports Strong Sales Growth in March.
Same-store sales at Wendy's U.S. company restaurants were
up 5.4% in March, on top of 8.9% a year ago. Tim Hortons same-store
sales in Canada increased 9.5% in March, on top of 13.8% growth a
year ago. .... 11 Apr, 2000
Burger King Franchisees Seek Break. Burger King Corp.
has rejected an offer from its U.S. franchisees to purchase the brand
from the hamburger chain's parent company, Diageo PLC of Britain.
.... 11 Apr, 2000
Retail Sales Seen Softer, But Still Solid. U.S. retail
sales likely cooled in March as euphoric consumers took a break from
their start-of-the-year spending spree, economists said on Tuesday.
.... 11 Apr, 2000
Strategies for Fighting Huge Retail Chains. ....
10 Apr, 2000
Franchisees Bid for Freedom from Diageo. Burger King
Corp.'s franchisees in the United States are working behind the scenes
to try to split the hamburger chain from Diageo PLC of Britain. ....
10 Apr, 2000
Starbucks to Buy More 'Fair Trade' Coffee. Starbucks
Corp. said on Monday it will buy more coffee beans from importers
paying above-market prices to small farmers and will sell them in
its more than 2,000 U.S. coffee shops and on its Web site. .... 10 Apr, 2000
Forget tech - bite on a doughnut. You can't download
a doughnut. But in a week when technology stocks have demonstrated
an even more frightening volatility than usual that could be a good
thing. .... [more]
10 Apr, 2000
Starbucks CEO Gives Up Title to Focus Abroad. Howard
Schultz, who built Starbucks Corp. from an obscure local coffee chain
into an espresso empire with more than 2,800 stores around the world,
said Thursday that he would step down as chief executive to lead the
company's charge on the vast overseas market. .... 7 Apr, 2000
Dreyer's Raises Ben & Jerry's Offer. An ice
cream company that has twice in the past tried to buy Ben & Jerry's
Homemade Inc. has sweetened its latest offer. .... 7 Apr, 2000
Retail spending still strong in March. Because
of this year's late Easter US retailers eked out one of their smallest
monthly gains since 1996, but most analysts said they found little
hard evidence in March retail sales that consumers have reined in
their free-spending ways. .... 7 Apr, 2000
Hungry Investors Look to Krispy Kreme Dollars to doughnuts.
That's how IPO investors were betting Wednesday as shares
of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., the profitable, 63-year-old chain,
soared 76% in first-day trading. .... 6 Apr, 2000
CKE Posts Loss; Stock Price Dives. Fast food: Carl's
Jr. parent is down $61.8 million in the 4th quarter as it struggles
to revive its Hardee's chain. Shares fall to $5.19, a 52-week low.
.... 6 Apr, 2000
CKE Blames Loss on Expenses, Slow Sales. CKE Restaurants
Inc., owner of the Carl's Jr. and Hardee's hamburger chains, said
it had a fiscal fourth-quarter loss because expenses rose and Hardee's
sales slowed. .... 6 Apr, 2000
Retail Sales Slowed by Late Easter. The pace of retail
sales slowed to a four-year low last month, mostly because Easter
falls three weeks later than a year ago, shifting much of the holiday
buying from March into April. .... 6 Apr, 2000
Sales Reports From Top Retailers. March sales and sales
for the fiscal year to date reported by leading retailers. .... 6 Apr, 2000
Steak Escape Sizzles, Signs Mega Store Deal. Steak Escape®,
America's Favorite Cheesesteak, has just signed one of the largest
development agreements in the history of American franchising. The
plan calls for 100 stores to be opened in Colorado and California
within the next 10 years. .... 5 Apr, 2000
Cendant Restructures Board of Directors. Franchising
group Cendant Corp. said on Wednesday it is restructuring its board
of directors to comply with terms of a class action settlement that
arose out of accounting irregularities. .... 5 Apr, 2000
Krispy Kreme Has Sweet Nasdaq Debut. Wall Street took
a liking to doughnut-maker Krispy Kreme on its first trading day Wednesday,
as shares climbed more than 70 percent. .... 5 Apr, 2000
Krispy Kreme Hopes for Sweet IPO. The makers of Krispy
Kreme doughnuts have a fresh, new offering for fans of its hot-glazed
treats: stock. .... 5 Apr, 2000
MotleyFool.com - Fool Plate Special. Krispy Kreme: Hot
Shares Now? .... 5 Apr, 2000
Starbucks Stock Cools Off After Ratings Cut As if Nasdaq's
tech components weren't stirring up enough trouble Monday, the composite
was cooled off further by specialty coffee retailer Starbucks Corp.,
which slid 8% after two analysts cut their ratings on the stock. ....
4 Apr, 2000
Late Easter Means Softer Retail Sales. Same-store sales
in March for some U.S. retailers are expected to be flat to lower
from last year as shoppers postpone spring purchases with the Easter
holiday falling in late April instead of early April this year, analysts
said. .... 4 Apr, 2000
Battle Over Pizza Puffery Could Reshape Ad Landscape. Marketing:
As Papa John's and Pizza Hut tussle over slogans - an appeal goes
to court this week - other firms fear the fight will spur challenges
from rivals over how they promote products. .... 2 Apr, 2000
2 Rival CEOs Have More in Common Than Usual.
The battle for pizza supremacy being fought between Pizza Hut and
Papa John's is being directed by two forceful chief executives who
live in the same Louisville neighborhood, pray at the same church
and relax at the same exclusive golf course. .... 2 Apr, 2000
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