November 10, 2008 -
SCRANTON, Pa. -- Customers here won’t find Krispy Kreme doughnuts at the region’s convenience stores and supermarkets anymore, The Times-Tribune reported.
The local franchise ceased wholesale distribution to sites in more than a dozen counties in late September. Krispy Kreme laid off about 15 of its 55 employees, including all its drivers, to concentrate on its core retail and fundraising operations, the report stated.
"Fuel was going through the roof. That was the clincher," explained Joe Adcroft Jr., vice president of operations at Krispy Kreme Doughnut Co., which has retail shops in Scranton and South Abington Township. "You would put all the costs down and see what’s coming in and say, ‘This doesn’t make sense.’ We are pleased with our decision, in spite of the fact that gas has gone back down."
Krispy Kreme’s five trucks were traveling seven days a week and some routes ran 300 miles daily, Adcroft said. Its wholesale operation stopped generating a profit about a year ago, he said, and the jump this year in prices for fuel and commodities, along with vehicle maintenance, insurance and bookkeeping costs, brought the end.
"You won’t be in business at all if you don’t eliminate the things that are hurting you," Adcroft told the newspaper. "You scale back, you regroup, you try to make ends meet."
The decision doesn’t affect Krispy Kreme franchisees in other parts of the country.
This year is special for Convenience Store News, as it marks the 40th year of publication, making it the longest continuously published news source for the convenience store industry.
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November 10, 2008 -
SCRANTON, Pa. -- Customers here won’t find Krispy Kreme doughnuts at the region’s convenience stores and supermarkets anymore, The Times-Tribune reported.
