Dunkin's New CEO Is McDonald's Alumnus -- WSJ
12 July 2018 - 5:02PM
Dow Jones News
By Austen Hufford and Julie Jargon
This article is being republished as part of our daily
reproduction of WSJ.com articles that also appeared in the U.S.
print edition of The Wall Street Journal (July 12, 2018).
The owner of Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins said Chief
Executive Nigel Travis is ending a more than nine-year tenure
during which he brought the company public and extended the
domestic and international reach of its brands.
Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. on Wednesday named David Hoffmann as
its new CEO, with Mr. Travis moving to the role of executive
chairman. Mr. Travis, 68 years old, said Mr. Hoffmann was hired
from McDonald's Corp. in 2016 with an eye toward making him the
company's next leader. Mr. Travis said his successor "passed every
hurdle we gave him."
During Mr. Travis's tenure as CEO, a job he took in 2009, the
Canton, Mass.-based company entered 25 international markets and
added almost 6,000 restaurants globally. At the end of last year,
the company had 11,701 locations in the U.S. and 8,819 abroad.
The outgoing CEO also launched the company's consumer
packaged-goods line. The company said in its most recent annual
report that the top-selling K-Cup pod product nationally in 2017
was Dunkin'-branded. K-Cups are single-serving coffee pods used in
Keurig machines.
Dunkin' said Mr. Travis as executive chairman will focus on the
continued development of the company's international
businesses.
Mr. Hoffmann, 50, joined the company in October 2016 as
president of Dunkin' Donuts U.S. He was also in charge of global
franchising and store development for both the ice cream and coffee
brands.
Mr. Hoffmann, who said he has spent a lot of time visiting
franchisees, has repositioned Dunkin' Donuts to focus more on
beverages than food, with an emphasis on coffee to go. He led a
major menu simplification effort at the chain in order to reduce
kitchen complexity and boost profits.
During his time at Dunkin', it turned to automation to perform
less-desirable tasks in an effort to improve employee retention in
a tight labor market.
Mr. Hoffmann also said he pushed the chain to boost its
afternoon business by testing a new afternoon snack menu with $2
items designed to pair with coffee. More recently, he helped launch
Dunkin's first national value menu in many years and promoted menu
innovation with new products like donut fries.
Before joining Dunkin', Mr. Hoffmann spent 22 years with
McDonald's, where he most recently was in charge of high-growth
markets, including China, South Korea, Russia and several European
countries.
In July 2011, Dunkin' priced its initial public offering at $19
a share. Shares edged higher to $71.40 on Wednesday, representing a
30% rise over the last 12 months. Prior to joining Dunkin', Mr.
Travis was CEO of pizza chain Papa John's International Inc. and,
before that, chief operating officer of movie-rental company
Blockbuster Inc.
Write to Austen Hufford at austen.hufford@wsj.com and Julie
Jargon at julie.jargon@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 12, 2018 02:47 ET (06:47 GMT)
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