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Section 1: Corporate-Level Part 1: Brief History of the Corporation The story of Krispy Kreme begins in 1933, when Vernon Carver Rudolph buys a doughnut shop and a “secret recipe” from a French chef in Paducah, Kentucky. Before long Rudolph and his partner moved to Nashville, Tennessee, looking to expand into a larger market. In Nashville, members of the Rudolph family joined the business, which was primarily focused on selling doughnuts to local grocery stores. In 1937, Rudolph decides to leave Nashville to open his own shop. Rudolph and two other men head off to Winston-Salem in their 1936 Pontiac with nothing but $25 cash, a few pieces of doughnut making equipment, the secret recipe, and the name: Krispy Kreme. When they arrived in Winston-Salem they used their last $25 to rent a building, and then, with no money left to buy ingredients, they had to borrow their ingredients from a nearby grocer. The next thing they needed was a way to deliver their doughnuts. This problem was solved by removing the back seat to the Pontiac and installing a delivery rack. On July 13, 1937, the very first Krispy Kreme doughnuts were made and sold at the new Winston-Salem Shop. Before long, the people began stopping by the shop and asking if they could buy fresh, hot doughnuts right there on-site. The demand was so great Rudolph decided to cut a hole in the wall of the shop so they could sell directly to customers. This marked the beginning of Krispy Kreme’s retail service. Throughout the 1950’s, steps were taken to mechanize the doughnut-making process. Hand-cut doughnuts became a thing of the past when doughnut cutting, proofing, frying, glazing, and screen loading all became automatic. This was the foundation of the doughnut-making process used by Krispy Kreme stores today. In 1962, there was a new innovation. Doughnuts were now extruded by air pressure from the dough hopper to form the perfect doughnut shape. This process is still used today. After Rudolph died, Krispy Kreme Doughnut Corporation was bought out by Beatrice Foods Company in 1976. But by 1982, a group of Krispy Kreme franchises purchased Krispy Kreme back from Beatrice Foods Company, making it an independent company once again. In 1995, the first store outside of the Southeast opened in Indianapolis, Indiana, and since then they have expanded to serve customers through more than 310 U.S. stores in 41 states, as well as stores in both Canada and Australia. Part 2: Corporate-Level Analysis 1. Does the corporation have a formal mission statement? Does it define the corporation, provide a vision, and articulate the corporate philosophy? Give Examples. If it doesn’t have a mission statement, explain the impact on the company not having one. Krispy Kreme does not have a formal mission statement. In many cases the impact that this can have on a company can be very negative. Not having a mission statement can lead to a disorganized company that doesn’t know what it is trying to achieve. The company does not fully understand how to structure their goals, guide decisions, or allocate their resources. However, in the case of Krispy Kreme this is not what has happened at all. It doesn’t seem to have impacted them at all. Like Wal-Mart, who also has no formal mission statement, it is obvious to everyone within the company what Krispy Kreme is trying to do: sell premium quality doughnuts that are second-to-none and appeal to all. Everyone in the company knows that superior quality and taste is what Krispy Kreme is all about. So when it comes to making decisions at Krispy Kreme, employees don’t need a mission statement to tell them what to do. 2. Is their mission statement appropriate for them? Explain. If it doesn’t have one, write a good one and explain why yours is appropriate. This mission statement is taken from key ideas that are mentioned in the 2002 and 2003 Krispy Kreme annual reports. Although Krispy Kreme does not have a formal mission statement, it is obvious from these annual reports that they do have, know, and understand what their mission is, and, also, have many various philosophies that they believe in and follow.
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