After I moved to New England, Dunkin' Brands'
It's about the coffee
Even though Dunkin' Brands consists of both Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins ice cream, the coffee is what gets me going. Dunkin' Donuts has more than 6,700 stores in 35 states, with most stores east of the Mississippi River. Dunkin' Donuts franchises its stores to owners, with franchise fees accounting for more than 62% of its recent quarterly revenue. This is different than Starbucks
With locations in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, Starbucks has more than 11,000 stores in the U.S. It managed to expand nationwide through much of the '90s by moving into areas and opening numerous stores in those areas. Dunkin' Brands tried the same thing, but has struggled because its franchise model of operation means it has to rely on franchisees to expand its footprint. Starbucks was able to better control growth because it retained store ownership.
Regional competitors
Dunkin Brands could expand in the Midwest; its only real presence in the area is in Chicago. The Midwest is served primarily by Caribou Coffee
Canada-based Tim Hortons
A truly untapped market for Dunkin' Donuts is California, the most populous state in the country. With the majority of its stores east of the Mississippi River, there are many other places it can expand before the Golden State. In addition to the 2,000-plus Starbucks in California, the other large-scale competitor in the market is Peet's Coffee & Tea
Other coffee options
Other companies have tried to fill consumers' coffee needs. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Keep on runnin'
Dunkin' Brands has only been a public company for a couple of months, so it may be a good idea to keep an eye on it over the next few quarters. You can do so by adding Dunkin' Brands to My Watchlist.