I work in Australia for one of those evil giant multinationals (not one of the famous ones, tho'). Due to the joys of email, I can keep in touch with my fellow wageslaves in branches elsewhere, like Canada, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom &, of course, the United States of America.
To leaven the deeply intense work-related exchanges, I sometimes like to toss in something less formal (no-one has yet answered my query about just what eggs 'over easy' are). Here is a recent one I rather liked.
Me
Sent: Friday, 30 May 2003 9:50
Subject: RE: What is it about Krispy Kreme that their doughnuts can influence the Dow?

Them
By the way, have you ever had a Krispy Kreme doughnut? :-)

Me
Subject: RE: What is it about Krispy Kreme that their doughnuts can influence the Dow?
Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2003 14:06:27 +1000

Not yet ...
looks like I'll get the chance Real Soon Now (even before the next Harry Potter book is out).


[I see a KrispyKreme-man, sort of like a cross between the giant marshmallow critter in Ghostbusters & the Michelin man ... coming across the Pacific ocean bed, then through Sydney Harbour as a shape under the surface, rather
like the whales recently, and striding up the Parramatta River, gradually more & more of him above the waterline as he gets closer to the source, the waves in his wake surging up the banks as he turns into the calm green waters of the Nepean, scattering kayakers, 'til he steps ashore, leaning on the road bridge, to visit his immigrant outlet, set on the wide, flat Cumberland Plain. (Unlike the Wicked Witch of the West (East?) he don't dissolve in water.)]


www.bandt.com.au/articles/5d/0c014b5d.asp

DOUGHNUT maker Krispy Kreme launched in Australia this week, but like fellow American über-brand Marykateandashley, the company eschewed the traditional
advertising route, opting instead for a sampling and PR campaign.

... The first of 30 proposed Krispy Kreme stores will open in Penrith, western Sydney, in June.

Krispy Kreme Australia CEO John McGuigan said ... "On almost any day of the week we will be involved in different sampling activities. We're going to give away a lot of doughnuts."

www.couriermail.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5936,6515314%255E462,
00.html
[This one has some interesting business details]
D'oh!-Nuts from Homerland
By Jeremy Roberts
30may03

... Following the well-trodden path of treacly food and drink invented in the south of the US, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts will open its first "store" at Penrith in western Sydney on *June 19* ... - the first export of the product outside North America.

... the KK doughnut will become ubiquitous in Sydney and then Australia if its popularity in the US is any guide (this moderately unhealthy reporter managed four in one sitting before getting a headache).

...Krispy Kreme Australia is 35 per cent owned by Krispy Kreme Doughnuts of the US, and 65 per cent owned by Borderless Australia, controlled by business partners John McGuigan and Lawrence Maltz.

An Australian, Mr McGuigan retired as executive chairman of international *law* firm Baker & McKenzie in 1998 before identifying Krispy Kreme as a
business opportunity and becoming Australian chief executive last year.

His friend and business partner Mr Maltz, one of the driving forces behind international coffee juggernaut Starbucks in the 1990s, is based on the west coast of the US.

[Looks like they've got the coffee & doughnut market sewn up, then. Note that I didn't make any jokes about malts.]

http://www.krispykreme.com.au/faq.html has some factoids.

But it looks like I can't get in on the ground floor.

http://www.krispykreme.com.au/australia.html
THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN A KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUT CORPORATION
FRANCHISE.
As you may be aware, we no longer have franchise opportunites/development
rights available in Australia. We are not accepting applications at this
time. Several markets are currently under development and stores will be
opening soon.
[permalink][comment] - posted by Mez @ 6/12/2003 01:31:00 am