SEATTLE -- Looking for signs of the changing times? Try coffee for a nickel. Krispy Kreme franchises in the Northeast are changing its drip prices to reflect the cost when the company was founded, while other chains, from Starbucks to Costco, are offering deals to lure customers.
"Guests are thrilled," Seattle Krispy Kreme franchise president Gerard Centioli told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "They come in and order a coffee and find out it's 5 cents. They're thinking that the person taking their order is making a mistake."
Krispy Kreme 's "New Deal" promotion began Oct. 14 and [image-nocss] has no end date, but it can't go on forever—5 cents doesn't even cover the cost of the 12-ounce cup and lid, let alone the arabica coffee inside, according to the newspaper. "It is a much better deal today than it was in 1937," Centioli said. "Drink sizes for coffee and otherwise were much smaller back then."
Meanwhile, Seattle-based Tully's Coffee Corp. plans to roll out six different card promotions starting Nov. 1. Each week for six weeks, the promotion will change. One promotion lets customers spend $5 and get an extra $1. Another lets customers put $30 on their cards and get $6, or 20%, extra.
"In our stores, that typically is the equivalent of two or three drinks," Martin Walker, Tully's vice president of marketing and merchandising, told the newspaper. "We always do something for the holidays around the Tully's card anyway, but this by far is the most generous offer that we've had, and that has a lot to do with the economy."
Dan Geiman, an analyst at McAdams Wright Ragen, said he 's seeing similar promotions elsewhere. "You're seeing it across the board—coffee places, restaurants, retailers in general," he said. "Obviously it's a tough environment, and they're just trying to stimulate a little traffic there."
Other “bargains” reported include:
· Seattle-based Starbucks Corp., after months of various promotions, has another big one coming. On Nov. 4, it will unveil its Starbucks Gold card, which gives cardholders 10% off most purchases. The new membership program is an expansion of Starbucks Card Rewards, launched in April, and offers a different set of benefits. The annual membership fee for the card is $25. It's not a credit card.
· Issaquah, Wash.-based Costco Wholesale Corp. has begun offering five $20 Starbucks gift cards for $80.
· Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin Donuts has been offering lattes and breakfast sandwiches for 99 cents in the afternoons to boost traffic at a slow time.
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