Dunkin' Donuts To Expand To Southern California, Open Several Hundred More Outposts

Dunkin' Donuts Poised For Major Expansion
Dunkin' Donuts products are displayed Wednesday, July 27, 2011 in Montpelier, Vt. Shares of Dunkin' Donuts parent company are set to start trading Wednesday after pricing at $19 per share, more than the $16 to $18 range it predicted two weeks ago. Dunkin' Brands Group Inc., which also owns the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain, sold about 22.3 million shares. That means it raised about $423 million before deducting underwriting expenses.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)
Dunkin' Donuts products are displayed Wednesday, July 27, 2011 in Montpelier, Vt. Shares of Dunkin' Donuts parent company are set to start trading Wednesday after pricing at $19 per share, more than the $16 to $18 range it predicted two weeks ago. Dunkin' Brands Group Inc., which also owns the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain, sold about 22.3 million shares. That means it raised about $423 million before deducting underwriting expenses.(AP Photo/Toby Talbot)

Dunkin' Donuts has announced plans to expand to Southern California -- specifically in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Diego, San Bernardino, Ventura and Orange counties -- starting in 2015. This is part of the company's long-term goal to have more than 15,000 restaurants in the United States.

Dunkin' Donuts has tried to infiltrate Southern California before, but to little avail. It had shut down all stores by the late 1990s and had a brief comeback in Sacramento in 2002 that didn't last.

In addition to announcing California expansion plans, Dunkin' Donuts also announced the plan to open 330 to 360 new restaurants in the United States. In 2012, the company opened 291 outlets, and remodeled another 600.

"Expansion to California has always been part of our plan to grow Dunkin' Donuts' presence in the U.S. We have maintained our disciplined approach to expand steadily while focusing on initiatives to improve restaurant economics and franchisee profitability," said Nigel Travis, Chief Executive Officer, Dunkin’ Brands and President, Dunkin’ Donuts U.S., in a press release.

Canton, Mass.-based Dunkin' Donuts has long seemed ubiquitous in New England, but the chain has started to expand its footprint in recent years. Dunkin' signed multi-store agreements last year in 32 U.S. markets ranging from Milwaukee, Wisc. to Denver, Colo. According to The NPD Group, Dunkin' Donuts restaurants serve the most hot regular, decaf, flavored and iced coffee in America -- that's 1.7 billion cups of hot and iced coffee every year. Add several hundred more locations to the mix, plus some food innovations, and we're wondering how soon that number will reach the 2 billion mark.

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