In the wake of last week's public offering of Dollar General, more IPOs are expected to be coming down the pipeline as private equity firms seek a monetary return on investments made during the boom years. Speculation is that Toys "R" Us and Dunkin' Donuts could be next.

Toys "R" Us Inc. is owned by Bain Capital, KKR, and Vornado Realty Trust (NYSE: VNO). The world's leading dedicated toy and baby products retailer was a public company from 1978 until its acquisition by the private equity consortium in July 2005 for $6.6 billion. It has more than 1,500 stores in 33 countries, and its businesses include Babies "R" Us, eToys.com, and FAO Schwarz, the latter two acquired earlier this year. Main competitors include privately owned KB Toys, as well as big-box retailers Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT).

Continue reading Toys 'R' Us and Dunkin' Donuts in line for IPOs?

Toys 'R' Us and Dunkin' Donuts in line for IPOs? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 22 Aug 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Starbucks: Another day, another change

Starbucks: Another day, another change originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Starbucks to sell instant coffee, will it result in instant profit?

Starbucks to sell instant coffee, will it result in instant profit? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dunkin Donuts beats Starbucks with better tasting coffee ... again originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In the face of a tough economy, a weak stock price, and formidable competition from lower cost coffee sellers like Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's (NYSE: MCD), The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) that Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) is taking steps to bring down its labor costs.

The idea is to have fewer workers working more hours, with an eye toward making more of the baristas full-time, working 32 hours or more per week.

The Industrial Workers of the World, a labor union that has been trying to make inroads at the chain, complains that the new system does not guarantee that workers will actually receive those hours. The idea is that cost savings will come from lower employee turnover and reduced training expenses. Because Starbucks already offers generous benefits packages to its part-time workers, the cost increases on that side will likely be minimal.

More importantly though, the move will deliver a more consistent experience for customers, with more knowledge full-time, familiar faces serving coffee.

Starbucks mixes up schedule to slash labor costs originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 04 Oct 2008 17:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dunkin' Donuts seems to believe that if McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) can take business from Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) that it has a chance to as well.

According to Reuters, "Dunkin' Donuts -- the East Coast coffee shop chain called by some the "anti-Starbucks," because of its core blue collar customer base, still plans to more than double its U.S. stores to 15,000 by 2020."

Pretty arrogant. The plan by Dunkin' Donuts sounds like comments from Starbucks more than two years ago. It said it would eventually have 40,000 stores worldwide. At the time, it had well under half that many. Wall Street bought into the plan and when Starbucks began to see slowing in its business, investors punished it by selling its shares down by 60%.

Starbucks has been damaged by its own expansion. That does not mean that it makes sense for a competitor to say it can increase its business by 100%. With McDonald's in the market, no other company may be able to ramp up its coffee business by any meaningful amount.

Better for Dunkin' Donuts to keep its mouth shut and impress people with its performance than to set a goal that it may not reach.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor from 247wallst.com

Starbucks faces new challenge and some arrogance from Dunkin' Donuts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Sep 2008 09:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Starbucks Corp.

Getting people to change their breakfast habits will be difficult. In tight economic times, people will gulp down their morning meal at home. If they do eat out, they will look for cheaper alternatives than Starbucks. McDonald's Corp. (NYSE: MCD) has made serious inroads in the breakfast market, as has Dunkin' Donuts. Sorry, Starbucks lovers, but I found their coffee far less biter than Starbucks. I even have two bags of Dunkin' java (regular and decaffeinated) in my house.

Continue reading Starbucks gambles on healthier breakfast fare

Starbucks gambles on healthier breakfast fare originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Sep 2008 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• The keffiyeh is an ancient traditional headdress worn by men, and is most connected to the Bedouins. While the keffiyeh was worn by both Yasser Arafat and Che Guevara, it was also worn by bohemian American girls in the 1980s.
• Critics of the keffiyeh's symbolism point to its connection with Palestinians and Fatah. However, Palestinians themselves wear the headdresses no matter what their party affiliation or political leanings.
• Arabs are not all terrorists. In fact, most Arabs are not terrorists. Connecting an ancient traditional garment worn by millions across dozens of countries to a tiny (no matter how awful) faction of criminals seems racist.
• Rachael Ray is not wearing a keffiyeh in this picture. She is wearing a paisley scarf with a fringe, selected by her stylist. Honestly, I don't think it looks great on her, but what do I know.

Rachael Ray wears scarf, Dunkin Donuts pulls ad due to terrorism accusation originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 28 May 2008 15:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and check out other Battle of the Brands posts.

Oh, how the sugary have fallen. Ten years ago, even five, you and I both know how this would have come out. In the standoff between longtime national fried-dough pusher Dunkin' Donuts and upstart sweet freak Krispy Kreme Doughnuts (NYSE: KKD), Krispy reigned supreme. The chain was rolling out new franchises as fast as dough circles could parade around its restaurants on shiny metal racks, and each time it did local police stations did overtime directing traffic.

Somehow, the mighty fell after the considerable sugar high, largely connected to poorly-managed finances, badly-handled expansion, and a sudden national fear of carbohydrates. All the while, Dunkin' Donut managers everywhere continued to plod along, making the doughnuts, and quietly stirring a blue-collar breakfast revolution. One day America woke up and realized, hey, Dunkin' Donuts' coffee is good! Someone named it "Better than Starbucks" and it soon became clear that the product guys had realized something: we make a lotta money off of coffee. Actually, more than half of the company's revenue.

Continue reading Battle of the Brands: Dunkin' Donuts vs. Krispy Kreme

Battle of the Brands: Dunkin' Donuts vs. Krispy Kreme originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Starbucks should have dumped CEO months ago

Starbucks should have dumped CEO months ago originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 08 Jan 2008 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Rachael Ray went from scraping together the rent as a candy counter girl to a multi-millionaire with her own talk show, cooking show(s), magazine, and books that have sold more than 4 million copies. She's also spawned a lingo all her own. (EVOO for Extra Virgin Olive Oil has entered the popular vernacular). All this in a little under ten years.

How cool is that?

Love her or hate her, Rachael Ray, she of the perky smile and Girl-next-door demeanor, gets major points for translating her love of cooking into a multi-million media empire. People can't seem to get enough of her "regular gal" persona. But her bubbly personality masks some serious business savvy.

Using her mentor Oprah Winfrey as a blueprint, Ray has expanded out of the kitchen this year into many other avenues. Her one-hour daytime talk show, The Rachel Ray Show, is patterned after the perennially popular Oprah Winfrey Show, and was the only syndicated daytime talk show launched in 2007 to be renewed. Her Food Network shows continue to be among the most popular on the channel.

She also cooked up some lucrative endorsement deals with name brands such as Dunkin Donuts and Nabisco -- now owned by Kraft Foods (NYSE: KFT). These media venues help feed her magazine (Every Day with Rachel Ray) and cookbook sales.

These are like the cherry on top of the $16 million Ray took home this year, according to Forbes magazine. By some estimates, Ray's net worth is touching $100 million, but that's hard to verify. One thing's for sure, this gal doesn't need to get out of the kitchen; she's proving that she can stand the heat.

Be sure to check out more Money Winners of 2007.

Money Winners of 2007: For Rachael Ray, success sizzles originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 15 Dec 2007 11:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) highlighted the possibility of a merger between XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) and Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI).
• XM Satellite Radio has softened its stance about a possible deal with Sirius Satellite Radio, but any deal between the companies would face obstacles from the FCC.
• Starbucks Corp (NASDAQ: SBUX) rival Dunkin' Donuts plans to open its first store in Taiwan today as part of a regional push into mainland China. Starbucks also has expansion plans for China.
• Commerce Bancorp (NYSE: CBH) is under federal investigation by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, in conjunction with the Federal Reserve, due to the company's transactions with bank insiders.
  
• The Financial Times (subscription required) wrote that handset maker Sony Ericsson (NYSE: SNE, NASDAQ: ERIC) moved closed to pushing aside Samsung for third place in market share behind Nokia Corp (NYSE: NOK) and Motorola, Inc (NYSE: MOT); last year it overtook LG Electronics.
  

• The New York Times reported that the Chief Independent Investigator has found that a top Interior Department official was told nearly three years ago of a "legal blunder" that allowed drilling companies to avoid billions of dollars in payments for oil and gas pumped from publicly owned waters.
• The Toronto Sun reported rumors that Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is working to get the Beatles catalog onto its iTunes service.
  
• Investor's Business Daily mentioned Varian Semiconductor (NASDAQ: VSEA) positively in the "New America" column.

Newspaper wrap-up 1-17-07: Apple iTunes to get Beatles tunes? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 17 Jan 2007 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Dunkin' Donuts pours on the competition

Dunkin' Donuts pours on the competition originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Jul 2006 07:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.