KRISPY KREME LAYS CANADIAN PLANS, HIRES PR AGENCY
By Adnews Staff
Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Eastern Canada has hired a public relations firm and unveiled its plans to bring American doughnuts to Canada. The company, now based in Vancouver but shortly to relocate to Toronto, yesterday appointed Vancouver-based Wilcox Communications of the Barr & Wilcox Group its public relations agency of record. Last week KKDEC won development rights to the Ontario-Quebec-Maritimes region from the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corp. of Winston-Salem, NC. According to Wilcox, KKDEC will not conduct any advertising and will rely on PR during its launch phase. The Canadian operation plans to have its first location open by early 2002. Thirty-two stores will open across the eastern Canada region over a six-year period. Each store is envisioned as being over 4,000 square feet in size sitting on over an acre of land. Each store will employ more than 100 people engaged in what the company describes as "doughnut-making theatre." The stores will be designed to allow customers to see the doughnut-making process from start to finish, including a "Hot Doughnuts Now" sign which lights up whenever fresh doughnuts are ready. Store locations have not been confirmed, but the company maintains it is evaluating sites in every major population centre in eastern Canada. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Eastern Canada is headed by president and CEO Roy Morris, formerly zone vice president for Canada and the Pacific Northwest of Starbucks Coffee Company.