Tim Hortons to share stores with ice-cream chain in U.S
Written on February 9, 2009
Tim Hortons Inc. is moving to speed its expansion in the United States by co-branding up to 50 locations with Cold Stone Creamery.
Arizona-based Cold Stone Creamery will also welcome Tim Hortons into as many as 50 of its outlets under the agreement to combine coffee shops and ice-cream stands.
Combining two chains at a single location "will leverage complementary traffic patterns, creating cost-efficient opportunities for further growth of both brands," the companies said in a joint statement yesterday.
They recently co-branded two Tim Hortons locations in Rhode Island "with successful early results."
"Continued development and awareness of the Tim Hortons brand beyond our base of 500 restaurants in the United States is a key element of our overall approach to U.S. growth," CEO Don Schroeder stated.
"Co-branding selected locations with Cold Stone Creamery, one of the most popular ice cream concepts in the United States, is a complementary opportunity we are looking forward to pursuing as part of this test initiative."
Tim Hortons and Cold Stone Creamery’s privately held parent Kahala Corp. noted that Cold Stone Creamery does much of its business in the evening, while Tim Hortons is busy in the morning and at lunchtime flexcheck cash advance.
Kahala founder and CEO Kevin Blackwell said results at test stores "suggest that bringing our concepts together will increase the customer bases for both brands."
The 100-store program, starting in spring, will reconfigure locations of the two chains in Michigan, western New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Maine and Connecticut.
Cold Stone Creamery, with 1,450 locations in 11 countries, is known for serving ice cream made on-site with a variety of mix-ins on a frozen granite block.
Tim Hortons, with 3,294 restaurants including its 500-plus in the United States, serves up coffee and a wide range of baked goods and breakfast and lunch offerings.
Other quick-food companies have experimented with co-branding, including Baskin-Robbins and Dunkin’ Donuts in the U.S., while Canada’s Priszm Income Fund has been expanding its multi-branded outlets combining KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.
The Canadian Press
Filed in: legal.