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Caribou Coffee

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Caribou Coffee Company
Company typePrivate[1]
IndustryRetail coffee and tea
FoundedDecember 14, 1992; 31 years ago (1992-12-14)
Edina, Minnesota, United States
HeadquartersBrooklyn Center, Minnesota,
United States
Key people
John Butcher, President & CEO
Number of employees
7,000+[3]
ParentJAB Holding Company
Websitewww.cariboucoffee.com

Caribou Coffee Company is an American coffee company and coffeehouse chain. It was founded in Edina, Minnesota, in 1992. As of September 2023, the company operates over 750 locations worldwide.[4] It is headquartered in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

History

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1990s

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Caribou Coffee founder John Puckett was working as a management consultant for Boston-based management consulting firm Bain & Company, when he decided he wanted to become an entrepreneur. After a trip to Denali National Park in Alaska, he and his wife, Kim, decided to raise money and start a coffee company. His wife stayed with a job at General Motors while John moved to Minnesota to find the first site and put together financing.[5][6][7]

The initial concept for Caribou was a five-day-a-week schedule aimed at downtown office workers, mimicking what worked in Boston. Puckett signed a lease for the first location to be in the large Pillsbury Center office building. However, soon afterward the building's landlord decided not to sign the lease, because another of the building's retail tenants had exclusive rights to selling coffee in the building and had threatened to sue them. As a result, the financing for the store fell through because it was dependent on that specific site. Puckett opted to start looking for an available location in the suburbs, and the first Caribou Coffee shop was started in Edina, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, in December 1992.[5]

2000s

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In 2003, Michael J. Coles was named CEO.[8] On September 29, 2005, Caribou launched its IPO listed on NASDAQ under CBOU. CEO Coles recalls: "Two years after I took over, we expanded to 337 stores in fourteen states and the District of Columbia. In less than three years, Caribou went from a company with negative sales growth to a public company listed on NASDAQ."[9] In 2006, Arcapita (formerly known as First Islamic Investment Bank) was Caribou Coffee's majority shareholder.[10] In 2002, Yusuf al-Qaradawi's involvement[11] with the bank led to a protest of Caribou Coffee.[12][13] That same year al-Qaradawi stepped down as chairman of the bank's Sharia Board.[14] As of 2009, Caribou employed more than 6,000 people.[citation needed]

2010s

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In December 2012, the company was taken private in a $340 million deal by German equity company JAB Holding Company.[15][1] Following the merger, it was stated that Caribou Coffee would continue to be operated as an independent company with its own brand, management team and growth strategy, and that Caribou would continue to be based in Minneapolis.[16]

In May 2013, Caribou Coffee announced plans to close 80 stores in Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, Georgia, Illinois and Eastern Wisconsin, with 88 others in those locations to be converted to Peet's Coffee & Tea during 2013–2014. Caribou locations would remain open in California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and ten international markets.[17][18]

Caribou Coffee has 282 franchised outlets across nine international markets, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.[19]

In 2019, John Butcher replaced Sarah Spiegel as CEO.[20] On August 5, 2021, Caribou announced that it had merged with Panera Bread and Einstein Bros. Bagels to form Panera Brands.[21][22] After four years in private hands, on November 8, 2021, Panera Brands filed paperwork for an initial public offering of stock.[23]

Data breach

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On December 20, 2018, the company notified its customers of a potential data breach that they discovered in late November of that year. The breach also affected other companies owned by JAB Holding Company, namely Bruegger's and Einstein Bros. Bagels, and included the release of credit card numbers and CVV codes.[24][25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Kavanagh, Jim (April 8, 2013). "Caribou Coffee to close 80 stores, rebrand 88 others". CNN. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  2. ^ "Company Profile for Caribou Coffee Co Inc (CBOU)". Retrieved October 22, 2008.
  3. ^ "Company Information". Caribou Coffee. Archived from the original on March 2, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2008.
  4. ^ "Drinks around the world". Caribou Coffee. September 8, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Vomhof, John Jr. (July 5, 2013). "Caribou founder: Knowing when to leave the corporate world and go into business for yourself". Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
  6. ^ Chamis, Eleni (April 3, 2000). "A new cup o' joe". Washington Business Journal. Archived from the original on June 3, 2024. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  7. ^ Lambrecht, Claire (November 26, 2012). "Caribou Coffee pioneer swaps espresso for pizza". SmartPlanet. Archived from the original on December 10, 2015. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  8. ^ "Michael Coles named CEO of Caribou Coffee, expansion planned". Atlanta Business Chronicle. June 3, 2003. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  9. ^ Coles, Michael J.; Lewis, Catherine M. (2018). Time to get tough: how cookies, coffee, and a crash led to success in business and life. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-5462-0. LCCN 2018947522. OCLC 1030909455.
  10. ^ Caribou Coffee's majority stakeholder Arcapita's website displaying all US investments
  11. ^ Annual Report 2000 Archived October 17, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ Mikkelson, David (June 10, 2002). "Claim: Islamic bank is majority owner of the Caribou Coffee chain". Snopes. Archived from the original on May 6, 2023.
  13. ^ Simpson, Stephen D. (October 3, 2005). "Will Caribou's Shari'ah Affect Shares?". The Motley Fool. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023.
  14. ^ "Sheik Yusuf al-Qaradawi: Theologian of Terror - Affiliations". Anti-Defamation League. August 1, 2005. Archived from the original on October 16, 2006. [Qaradawi] stepped down from the post of the Bahraini bank in 2002, when his association triggered a popular boycott of Caribou Coffee, a U.S. chain in which First Islamic had a large share.
  15. ^ "Coffee meets bagels: Caribou Coffee to open inside Einstein Bros. Bagels". Chicago Sun-Times. July 19, 2018. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023.
  16. ^ Vomhof, John Jr. (December 17, 2012). "Caribou Coffee sold for $340 million to owner of Peet's Coffee". Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Archived from the original on December 19, 2012.
  17. ^ Shirlington Caribou Coffee to Become Peet's Coffee, West End Alexandria Patch, May 7, 2013
  18. ^ "Peet's, Caribou owner to buy former Sara Lee coffee business". Chicago Business Journal. April 12, 2013. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved April 15, 2013.
  19. ^ "Caribou Coffee debuts first US franchised store". World Coffee Portal. November 16, 2022. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
  20. ^ Van Abbema, Alex (January 18, 2019). "Caribou Coffee names John Butcher new CEO". Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal. Archived from the original on September 19, 2024. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  21. ^ "Caribou Coffee launches U.S. franchising program". October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  22. ^ Ruddy, Edward (August 5, 2021). "Panera Bread, Caribou Coffee and Einstein Bros. Bagels Unite as Panera Brands, Creating a Best-in-Class, Market Leading Fast Casual Platform" (PDF) (Press release). Panera Brands. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 18, 2024. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
  23. ^ Durbin, Dee-Ann (November 9, 2021). "Panera Bread returning to markets with upcoming IPO". Associated Press. Archived from the original on November 25, 2023. Retrieved November 10, 2021.
  24. ^ "Caribou Coffee, Bruegger's Bagels say data breach exposed credit card info". St. Paul Pioneer Press. December 21, 2018. Archived from the original on October 15, 2023. Retrieved December 21, 2018.
  25. ^ "Data Security Notice" (PDF) (Press release). Caribou Coffee. December 20, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 15, 2023.
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