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 UNITED STATES FRANCHISE NEWS ARCHIVE
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: : May 2000
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Online Retail Sales Rise in Q1. U.S. consumers boosted
their online purchases of goods such as computers, books and toys
in the first quarter of this year, although Internet sales still accounted
for only a small portion of overall retail sales, the government said
on Wednesday. .... 31 May, 2000
High Hopes, Backed by Investments. For many years, Robert
Simmons would drive past a vacant lot near the eastern edge of Bedford-Stuyvesant
and dream of opening a restaurant there. .... 29 May, 2000
Auto dealers warned on web brokers. DaimlerChrysler
AG has joined General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. in warning its
dealers not to do business with Internet brokers offering to sell
cars directly to consumers. .... 29 May, 2000
Keeping a Brand Alive. Pete Plamondon Sr. and his two
sons, Pete Jr. and Jim, recently opened their 15th Roy Rogers restaurant
in Frederick, years after most of their fellow Roy Rogers owners have
ridden into the sunset. .... [more]
29 May, 2000
Salon Founder Gets Franchise Credit. Who invented franchising,
an industry set to surpass $1 trillion in U.S. sales this year? Ray
Kroc of McDonald's Corp. in 1955? Standard-menu pioneer Howard Dearing
Johnson in 1926? Rexall Drug pharmacist Louis Liggett in 1902? ....
28 May, 2000
Two in Court Accused of NY Restaurant Killings. Two
men accused of the execution-style killings of five Wendy's fast-food
restaurant workers and wounding two others in a robbery last week
made their first court appearance on Sunday, charged with one of New
York City's worst mass murders. .... 28 May, 2000
Krispy Kreme Profit Rises 61% on Sales Boost. Krispy
Kreme Doughnuts Inc. said profit rose a better-than-expected 61% to
$3.05 million, or 27 cents a share, as sales jumped 33% to $71 million.
.... 26 May, 2000
California Pizza Kitchen Hopes IPO Yields $70 Million. Money
raised in initial public offering this summer would be used to pay
bank debt and buy back preferred stock. .... 26 May, 2000
Five Shot Dead at NY Fast-Food Restaurant. Two gunmen
walked into a Wendy's fast-food restaurant in New York on Wednesday
night, tied up seven employees, shot five dead and wounded the other
two in a robbery, police said on Thursday. .... 26 May, 2000
Shopping Malls Chase E-Commerce Dollars. It was a Christmastime
ultimatum that revealed just how scared mall owners really are of
e-commerce. .... 26 May, 2000
April Retail Sales Unrevised, Off 0.2 Pct. The Commerce
Department on Friday left April retail sales unrevised at a 0.2 percent
drop after reissuing annual revisions to the data. .... 26 May, 2000
McDonald's Takes Over Boston Market. McDonald's Corp.
today formally took over ownership of the Boston Market business and
reiterated plans to keep a large majority of its more than 750 restaurants
open. .... 26 May, 2000
Krispy Kreme Strong on Systemwide Growth. Krispy Kreme
Doughnuts Inc., in its first quarter as a public company, reported
better-than-expected first quarter results on Thursday, reflecting
strong sales company wide. .... 25 May, 2000
Krispy Kreme Rises on Doughnut Sales. Shares of Krispy
Kreme Doughnuts Inc. gained more than 13 percent on Thursday after
the doughnut retailer reported better-than-expected profits for its
first quarter as a public company. .... 25 May, 2000
Sizzler Orders Big Stake in Oscar's Restaurant Chain.
Food: Firm plans to expand current network of eight eateries to carve
out a share of home-meal replacement market. .... 25 May, 2000
California Pizza Kitchen: $70 Million IPO. California
Pizza Kitchen Inc., a casual-dining restaurant chain whose menu includes
premium pizzas with toppings such as barbecued chicken and shrimp,
filed on Thursday to raise $70 million in an initial public stock
offering. .... 25 May, 2000
Starbucks Going for All The Coffee In China. SHANGHAI
- Never mind that folks in these parts all drink tea. Starbucks Coffee
wants them to wake up and smell the latte. To that end, the Seattle-based
java giant is opening new shops in this vast region faster than your
favorite barista can whip your mocha. .... 24 May, 2000
Starwood Enters Hotel-Goods Pact With Zoho. Starwood
Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc., owner of the Sheraton, Westin and
other major hotel chains, said it will invest $30 million in Zoho
Corp. and will channel much of its $3 billion a year in purchases
through the Internet-based hotel-goods supplier. .... 24 May, 2000
INTEREST - Retail Firm Weathers Tests of Time, Trends. Small
business: Windsor Fashions survived the recession that killed other
clothing chains by taking risks and embracing new ideas and technology.
.... 24 May, 2000
Hardee's Woes Prompt S&P to Downgrade CKE Debt. Standard
& Poor's lowered its ratings on CKE Restaurants Inc.'s debt Thursday,
citing the survival struggle in the Anaheim company's Hardee's restaurant
chain. .... 19 May, 2000
McDonald's Considers Non-Burger Franchises. McDonald's
Corp. said it is exploring ways to franchise its non-hamburger brands,
which include Chipotle Mexican Grill and Donatos Pizza. .... 19 May, 2000
Grow Biz sees $2.5 million second-quarter charge. Grow
Biz International Inc., which operates the Play It Again Sports and
Once Upon A Child franchises, said on Thursday it expected to record
a second-quarter charge of $2.5 million. .... 18 May, 2000
McDonald's plans expansion. McDonald's, the US restaurant
group, said on Thursday it planned to add up to 1,900 new restaurants
around the world this year. .... [more]
18 May, 2000
McDonald's looks to franchise non-hamburger brands.
McDonald's Corp., the world's largest fast-food chain, on Thursday
said it is exploring ways to franchise its non-hamburger brands, which
include Chipotle Mexican Grill and Donatos Pizza. .... 18 May, 2000
INTEREST - Amway to Cut 11% of Work Force. Amway Corp.,
which built a billion-dollar success story through a friendly neighborhood
sales force, announced sweeping job cuts Wednesday, part of a major
restructuring to compete in the faceless world of the Internet. ....
18 May, 2000
Fears of Glut Rise as Hotel Chains Continue Building More Rooms.
Commercial real estate: It may bode ill for the industry,
but consumers could benefit from a reduction in rates as competition
heats up. .... 17 May, 2000
Small Firms Buying More on Web. Consumers aren't the
only ones doing their shopping on the Net. Online spending by U.S.
small businesses grew more than 1,000% last year to top $25 billion,
according to a new survey. .... 17 May, 2000
Upset Franchisees Foil Online Forum. It was bound to
happen: Upset franchisees. Unsupervised web postings. And a complete
meltdown. .... 17 May, 2000
Stores Change Attitude Toward Web. It wasn't so long
ago that traditional retailers saw the Internet as a threat, an alternate
means of commerce that would eventually gobble up sales from their
physical stores. .... 17 May, 2000
Wendy's U.S. April same-store sales rise 3.0 pct. Dublin,
Ohio-based Wendy's, one of the world's largest restaurant operating
and franchising companies with more than $7 billion in systemwide
sales, said same-store sales in its Tim Hortons restaurants in Canada
increased 7.3 percent in the month, on top of 10.8 percent growth
a year ago. .... 16 May, 2000
Mcdonald's Purchase of Boston Market Approved. Fast
food giant McDonald's Corp. on Tuesday said a U.S. bankruptcy court
approved a reorganization plan for Boston Chicken Inc. that will let
McDonald's complete the acquisition of the Boston Market restaurant
chain. .... 16 May, 2000
McDonald's-Boston Market Deal OK'd. McDonald's Corp.
said Tuesday that a U.S. Bankruptcy Court decision has cleared the
way for its acquisition of the Boston Market restaurant chain. ....
16 May, 2000
Starbucks Eyes Asia Coffee Plant. Starbucks Coffee
Co. said Monday it may build a coffee roasting plant in Asia to replace
imports from its Seattle-based plant. .... 15 May, 2000
A Model Partnership for Inner-City Renewal, Derailed.
When La-Van Hawkins, the leading black operator of fast-food franchises
in the nation, stood on the steps of the White House before President
Clinton in 1996 and pledged to open 225 Burger King restaurants in
several of the nation's toughest inner cities, it seemed that the
company had found its urban messiah. .... 14 May, 2000
7-Eleven Sprucing Up to Woo Women, Wall Street. Retailing:
Convenience store chain is stocking fresher foods, remodeling stores
and installing Internet kiosks. New stock issues, investors will help
debt-burdened company pay for upgrades. .... 14 May, 2000
Retail Revenue Slips First Time Since 1998. Economy:
But sales for April are up 9.7% from a year ago, suggesting consumer
spending will continue to power growth. .... 12 May, 2000
US retail sales fall. The seemingly unstoppable growth
in US consumer spending showed its first signs of flattening out in
April. .... [more]
11 May, 2000
Retail Sales Fall 0.2 Percent. Dreary weather, stock
market volatility and rising interest rates helped pull Americans
back from their free-spending ways in April, making retail sales fall
for the first time since August 1998. .... 11 May, 2000
Coco's/Carrows. The Irvine-based restaurant chain Coco's
reported relatively flat income for the first quarter, while sister
chain Carrows logged a hefty increase. .... 10 May, 2000
McDonald's Sales Through April Climb. McDonald's Corp.,
the world's largest fast food restaurant chain, said Wednesday that
sales through the first four months were $12.87 billion, up 9 percent
from a year ago when foreign currency changes are factored out. ....
10 May, 2000
Bias Suit Against Domino's Advances. Four residents
of Southwest Washington scored an important legal victory when a federal
judge agreed to let them move forward with a lawsuit accusing Domino's
Pizza of racial discrimination. .... [more]
7 May, 2000
Independents' day. Small, community-based real estate
agencies continue to thrive, despite the threat of competition presented
by several national chains. .... 7 May, 2000
BAB Holdings to Merge with Web Incubator. BAB Holdings
Inc., a Chicago-based bagel and coffee shop franchiser, said Thursday
it has entered a merger agreement with a New York-based Internet incubator
company, Planet Zanett. .... 5 May, 2000
Saucy Bread Company Ltd. Update. The Saucy Bread Company
Ltd. has sought the protection of the Bankruptcy process. .... 5 May, 2000
11 Real Estate Companies Plan Internet Alliance. Several
of the U.S.' largest real estate companies said they will form an
Internet alliance based in the San Francisco Bay Area to take better
advantage of the millions of people who live, work and shop in their
properties. .... 5 May, 2000
Kreme of Doughnut Crop Makes Offer. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
wants to put its Midwest headquarters - including a giant bakery and
retail store - in Elk Grove Village, and while village officials are
embracing the idea, they are a little unsure what to make of the mania
that seems to accompany the golden pastries .... 4 May, 2000
Yogen Fruz to Buy Eskimo Pie Corp. Eskimo Pie Corp.
is being purchased by Toronto-based Yogen Fruz World-Wide Inc. for
about $36 million. .... 4 May, 2000
Restaurants Stoke Optimism. Outback Steakhouse, an eatery
known for its heaping, meaty offerings and down-under Aussie ambience,
is opening two more restaurants in Prince George's County. .... [more]
4 May, 2000
Italy sees pasta give way to present. McDonald's and
Burger King have breached Italy's final frontier: pasta, pizza and
mamma's cooking are succumbing to foreign fast food. .... [more]
1 May, 2000
Tandy Same-Store Sales Up 7 Percent in April. Tandy
Corp., the operator of RadioShack stores, on Thursday said sales in
stores opened at least a year rose 7 percent in April, but its stock
tumbled amid concerns that growth is slowing at the consumer electronics
retailer. .... 4 May, 2000
Weather Hurts April Retail Sales. Dreary, cold weather
in April kept Americans from getting in the buying mood for T-shirts
and garden supplies, dampening sales at many of the nation's biggest
retailers for the month. .... 4 May, 2000
H&R Block Revenue, E-Commerce Unit Suffer. H&R Block
Inc. reported lower-than-expected tax preparation revenue and said
its e-commerce operation sustained losses for the year. .... 3 May, 2000
McDonald's eager for talks with critics. McDonald's,
which had a branch destroyed by demonstrators in London on Monday,
said it would welcome dialogue with its critics who consider it a
symbol of global capitalism. .... [more]
3 May, 2000
Wendy's Quarterly Operating Earnings Rise. Wendy's International
Inc., the nation's No. 3 hamburger chain, on Wednesday said first-quarter
earnings rose 21 percent before asset gains, matching analysts' estimates.
.... 3 May, 2000
Starbucks' Slide Means Time to Buy for Analyst. The
decline of almost one-third in Starbucks Corp. stock in April convinced
analyst Robert Ohmes, who follows the company for Morgan Stanley Dean
Witter & Co., that it's time to buy. .... 3 May, 2000
Traditional Mall Comes Out of Shell. Retail: A $69-million
renovation removes the roof from an enclosed center and turns it into
an outdoor shopping district. .... 2 May, 2000
Hilton Hotels Recurring EPS Down. Hilton Hotels Corp.,
which owns, manages and franchises hotels, said on Tuesday its first-quarter
earnings per share declined after one-time gains on sales of investments
and non-recurring charges are excluded. .... 2 May, 2000
Hotel giants team on Net marketplace. Rival hotel giants
Marriott and Hyatt today said they will form a separate company that
will launch an online marketplace connecting buyers and suppliers
in the hospitality industry. .... 2 May, 2000
Yogen Fruz loss deeper in second quarter $25.8-million. Yogen
Fruz World-Wide Inc., the Markham, Ont.-based frozen yogurt franchise,
posted widened second-quarter losses yesterday. .... 2 May, 2000
Taco Bell Hopes to Spice Up Sales. Taco Bell, the Mexican-style
fast-food chain, is jazzing up the ordinary nacho chip to put some
sizzle in its sales. .... 2 May, 2000
Starbucks to Work on Asian Expansion. Gourmet coffee
empire Starbucks Corp will concentrate on expanding its presence in
Asia in the years ahead, its chairman Howard Schultz said on Tuesday.
.... 2 May, 2000
Hong Kong Gets 1st Starbucks Store. The Starbucks Corp.
coffee chain opened its first Hong Kong store Tuesday as part of a
plan to double the company's presence in Asia to 500 outlets over
the next few years. .... 2 May, 2000
Rain Seen Dampening U.S. April Retail Sales. Sales for
many U.S. retailers in April are expected to fall below or only meet
expectations as cold and rainy weather in the East and Midwest chilled
consumers' enthusiasm for spring shopping, analysts said. .... 2 May, 2000
Millionaire Needs to Tidy Up Her Portfolio. Axcell is
chief executive of two Molly Maid residential cleaning franchises
in Long Beach and Torrance. She's been making good money since she
was 20, when she was doing so well selling real estate that she decided
there was no point in sticking it out at Long Beach City College.
.... 2 May, 2000
Unilever Repeats Ben & Jerry Pledge. Ben Cohen
and Jerry Greenfield, wearing jeans and rumpled sport shirts, on Monday
traveled to decidedly dressed-up Park Avenue, where they got another
round of assurances from their new multinational bosses that selling
their Vermont-based ice cream company wouldn't mean selling out their
ideals of social activism. .... 1 May, 2000
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