Comments:'Tim Hortons' coffee shops to go 'Cold Stone'

The first thought to come to mind is heart attack, I get fat enough just drinking my large double double every day now ice cream tim's should prepare for the lawsuits due to high fat content they cream is 18% in canada the grocery store sells 5% or 10%..

Didn't work for Dunkin' Donuts/Baskin Robbins - Why does Tim Horton think it will work?
The "combo store" concept was invented by Dunkin' Donuts, with their co-branding locations with Baskin Robbins ice cream shops. Dunkin' mostly abandoned this concept years ago, but it flat didn't work. In part the two concepts require very different kinds of locations. Just jamming donuts into an ice cream shop, or vice-versa, has proven to be a failure in all but very high density locations (like Manhattan).

The deal is complicated by the fact that Cold Stone stores are in "massive meltdown", no pun intended. The Cold Stone products are grossly overpriced compared to a Dunkin or Tim Horton's product. Cold Stone stores were failing at breathtaking numbers even before the recession started. In part the Cold Stone operation is plagued with overpriced stock (sold by the franchisor) and crippling labor costs. The "mix-in" fad has come and gone several times over the years, and with a base product as bad as Cold Stone's it's no wonder their stores are failing.

Existing Cold Stone stores have been screaming for something else to sell, in the theory that they can manage "daypart" operations. They don't yet realize that this also increases expenses especially payroll. However many of the Cold Stone's were sold to "yuppie" business owner wanna-bees, who second mortgaged their houses to jump on this bandwagon.

But ya gotta wonder what kind of thought went into this from the Tim Horton side. Perhaps just desperate for name recognition in an already overcrowded market for coffee and donuts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 195.229.241.172 (talk) 04:05, 9 March 2009 (UTC)