Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme

Krispy Kreme is a company that despite its history dating back to 1937, has only just in the past 10 years had rapidly increasing sales and expansion. Recently, however, the company has gotten itself into financial and legal trouble. Because of this and several marketing factors, the Krispy Kreme phenomenon is struggling to stay alive. Sales are decreasing and stores are being forced to be closed. The company has gone through ups and downs in its history, but the current situation is something that needs to be improved drastically. In order to correct these problems Krispy Kreme needs to re-think their distribution strategy in terms of wholesales, consider adding ways of promoting the product besides just word-of-mouth, and think about adding more choices to their product line to please more customers, more often.

Problem Overview:

Since going public, Krispy Kreme had been a standout on Wall Street, where its stock price climbed and they experienced soaring profits. That changed when shares fell nearly 30 percent after Krispy Kreme warned that profits were expected to fall 10 percent. Executives of the company blamed the popularity of low-carb diets and trends towards more healthy eating for driving down sales of its deep-fried, high-carb treats. The food industry in general has also been affected by a recent trend toward healthier eating habits. Krispy Kreme’s competition and financial and legal trouble have also led to loss of profit and credibility within the company. The initial huge success of the company may not have led to responsible decisions about the future of sales. In addition to these problems, the product offering is very limited, and the company has had a difficult time adding any additional successful items to the product line.

SWOT Analysis:

Strengths

• Strong Brand Name- People know the Krispy Kreme name and associate with quality.

• Good Reputation Among Customers

• Product Costs

• Years of experience in the market

• The best doughnut “experience”

Weaknesses