Post by Jonel on Apr 5, 2003 21:16:53 GMT -5
Roly Morris has the rights to Krispy Kreme in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada and hopes to eventually open 32 outlets.
More sweet temptations for our city
Legendary Krispy Kreme doughnut chain opens first Quebec outlet on May 6
Roly Morris exercises faithfully and eats a sensible diet - "mostly organic."
But he's offering no apologies for bringing Krispy Kreme to Canada. The light, fluffy doughnuts -?best when eaten warm - have risen to cult status in the U.S.
Do Canadians, for whom doughnuts are practically a national obsession, really need another calorie-laden temptation?
Morris already has four stores in Ontario and will open one in Montreal's March? Central on May 6.
Even the most health-conscious people need little indulgences, he said. And he has a confession.
"I have a very large sweet tooth and I can sit down at 11 at night with a quart of milk and a bag of Oreo cookies and knock them off with the best of them."
Besides, he added, "this product is not meant to be a staple part of your diet."
He's not trying to ruin your waistline, nor is he taking aim at a Canadian hero -?Tim Horton - whose shops dot the national landscape.
"I grew up when the Leafs and the Canadians played in the original six, so I'm probably one of few people who know that Tim Horton's real name was Miles Gilbert Horton," he said.
He respects the hockey player and the company that bears his name.
"They have become - along with Canadian Tire, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadians, Molson Ex and Labatt Blue -?a Canadian icon," he said.
But he does not view them as competition. Their business models are too different.
Tim Horton's does about half its business in coffee, he said. It offers a variety of products, and doughnuts by the dozen are actually a small part of its trade.
Doughnuts by the dozen are Krispy Kreme's raison d'?tre. The company sells very little coffee - it accounts for less than five per cent of its total sales. Its outlets are actually doughnut factories, located in the suburbs, with a
drive-through for those in a hurry, or a store where consumers can linger and watch the doughnuts being made.
Krispy Kreme has three retailing streams: stores, its charity operations and wholesaling to supermarkets, stadiums and theatres. Through the charity operation, non-profits groups can buy a dozen doughnuts that normally retail at $6.49 for only $4, then re-sell them for up to $8.
Morris has the rights to Krispy Kreme in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada and hopes to eventually open 32 outlets. He doubts Krispy Kreme will grow to more than 75 outlets across Canada, unlike Tim Horton's, which has more than 2,000.
A spokesman for Tim Horton's could not be reached for comment. But the company has said in the past that it views Krispy Kreme as being different - more of a specialty shop -?and Tim Horton's is more than just doughnuts - it's also breakfast and lunch.
Morris has had experiences bringing American icons into Canada. He was one of the businessmen who engineered the rise of Starbucks coffee shops in Canada.
A native of Toronto and a graduate of the University of Windsor, he started out working for the Montreal-based Steinberg/Miracle Mart chain. "Mr. Sam" Steinberg, the company's founder, was still around then, Morris said, and he still cherishes a coffee-table book given to senior managers about the history of the now-defunct company.
His career also took him to McGavin Foods in Calgary and Starbucks in Vancouver in 1991. He did very well financially with Starbucks, but left in 1997 to study for his MBA at Queen's University, travel and spend time with his now 8-year-old son, Connor.
He heard of Krispy Kreme about three years ago through his friend, Robert Fisher of Los Angeles, who is now his business partner. Morris originally hoped to get the rights to all of Canada, but was told his "beloved B.C." had already been awarded to someone else. He's still hoping to get the prairies.
Krispy Kreme has been around since 1937, the creation of a baker in North Carolina. For most of that time, they were a regional delicacy found only in the Old South.
Then, in 1995, the company opened a shop in Manhattan and was an instant hit. So it decided to tackle California, despite the area's reputation for health-conscious calorie-counters. It became a star, mentioned by celebrities and showing up in movies, and started spreading across the U.S.
Krispy Kreme arrived in Ontario, opening in Toronto in December 2001, and sold $70,000 worth of doughnuts in one day.
Its opening in Richmond Hill, Ont., was even larger, coming in at $74,000. It has also launched stores in Kitchener and Windsor.
Morris said awareness of Krispy Kreme was higher in Ontario before the company arrived than it is now
in Quebec, but he's still betting on $50,000 in sales during its first day in Montreal.
Courtesy Montreal Gazette
