Krispy Kreme Doughnuts to open first UK store at Harrods

London, August 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. today announced the location of its first United Kingdom store. Krispy Kreme will open its first factory store in Europe at the world's most famous department store, Harrods of Knightsbridge, London. Opening in October 2003, this will be the first of 25 stores that Krispy Kreme plans to open over a five-year period in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

The store will include Krispy Kreme's doughnut-making theatre, allowing customers to see the doughnuts being made from start to finish. The store also will feature Krispy Kreme's traditional "Hot Doughnuts Now" sign, which when illuminated, announces to customers that Krispy Kreme's signature Hot Original Glazed doughnuts are being made. Krispy Kreme will have its own designated street access enabling early morning purchases and plans to begin serving doughnuts at 7 a.m. each morning.

"This is a landmark event in Krispy Kreme's history," said Scott Livengood, Krispy Kreme's Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This marks our second store outside of North America, and our first in Europe. Harrods is an icon in the retail industry and we are extremely proud of this partnership. We look forward to a long and successful relationship as we continue to greet new customers in this part of the world."

Don Henshall, managing director of Krispy Kreme UK Ltd., the exclusive area developer for Krispy Kreme in the United Kingdom, echoed Livengood's sentiments, saying: "Harrods is a well-known London institution and is the perfect location for our UK debut. We are excited about introducing Harrods customers and the central London community to Krispy Kreme's unique hot doughnut experience."

Peter Willasey, Corporate Communications Director at Harrods commented: "Harrods is delighted to be the first retailer in Europe to offer its customers the Krispy Kreme experience. The level of excitement the announcement has already generated around London suggests that the partnership of these two brands will be a huge success."

Krispy Kreme's store in Harrods will offer the Company's signature Hot Original Glazed as well as well as 15 additional varieties of doughnuts, including iced, filled and cake doughnuts. To assure quality and consistency, Krispy Kreme produces its own proprietary doughnut mix and manufactures its own proprietary doughnut-making equipment.

In addition, the store will offer Krispy Kreme's signature coffee, which is made from high-quality coffee beans roasted by Krispy Kreme's own roastmaster to exact specifications.

Founded in 1937 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Krispy Kreme is a leading branded speciality retailer of premium quality doughnuts. Krispy Kreme currently has more than 300 retail locations in 41 U.S. states, Canada and Australia. An estimated 7.5 million Krispy Kreme doughnuts are made every day and more than 2.7 billion are produced each year. Krispy Kreme can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.krispykreme.com/.

Information contained in this press release, other than historical information, may be considered forward-looking in nature and is subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those anticipated, estimated or expected. Among the key factors that may have a direct bearing on Krispy Kreme's operating results, performance or financial condition are its dependence on franchisees to execute its store expansion strategy, supply issues, competition and numerous other factors discussed in Krispy Kreme's periodic reports, proxy statement and other information statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Notes to Editors:

Visit the Krispy Kreme website at http://www.krispykreme.co.uk/

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SOURCE Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc