Newest Dunkin' Contender - Timmy's Invades From Canada

BOSTON (Friday, March 17, 2006) - Can Tim Hortons find the same U.S. success as fellow Canadian imports Neil Young, Pamela Anderson, Wayne Gretzky and Mike Myers, to name just a few?

Tim Hortons Inc., for the uninitiated, is a coffee and donuts, bagel and sandwich chain based in Ontario. But to legions in Canada, where the Tim Hortons number more than 2,500, it's a brand icon.

"Timmy's," as it's affectionately called by our northern allies, is a Canadian phenomenon.



Owner Wendy's International Inc. plans to sell 17 percent of Tim Hortons in an initial public offering this month. The sale, expected to raise as much as $667 million, will fuel faster growth in the United States, where there are 290 stores in 10 states, including several in Fall River and Swansea. The company hopes to have 500 open by 2009.

Whether Americans embrace a Canadian competitor named for a National Hockey League legend that's edging in on Dunkin' Donuts and Starbucks territory remains to be seen. Its U.S. track record so far spells potential.

Revenue for Dublin, Ohio-based Wendy's increased 4.1 percent to $3.8 billion last year, and Tim Hortons here and in Canada delivered $1.2 billion of it, a 19 percent jump.

Sales increases at U.S. Tim Hortons units open at least a year were strongest at 7 percent. Those same-store sales were up 5.2 percent at Canadian Tim Hortons, while Wendy's dropped3.4 percent.

"They've had some good results in North America," said John Staszak, an Argus Research Corp. analyst in New York. "Their coffee has gone over very well, and their doughnuts are very good."

Just ask Canadians.

"It's a national icon," said Ken McGuffin, media relations manager at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management. "Many people swear by the coffee and wouldn't think of going anywhere else."

The Globe and Mail of Toronto last week reported that Canadian Forces serving in Afghanistan have been homesick for Tim Hortons. The company is answering the call by opening a small Tim Hortons trailer at the Kandahar Air Field.

View all Tim Hortons Press Releases

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