As the retail sector continues to contract despite claims that the economy is doing better, Dunkin’ Brands, the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and the Baskin-Robbins ice cream chain, have announced that, from now and into next year, the company will be closing at least 100 stores across the nation.
No list of locations has yet been released, but the company did note that all the locations are those inside Speedway gas stations.
Coinciding with the announcement of the closures, Dunkin’ Brands lowered its third quarter outlook to just 1.1 pecent same-store sales growth.
The company also failed to hit Wall Street earnings estimates.
The news sent the company’s stocks tumbling 12 percent.
Dunkin’ cited a spike in the cost of eggs due to the recent avian flu outbreak in the U.S. but also noted that the company is worried over the rise in minimum wage laws in cities across the country.
On the latter topic, Dunkin’ CEO Nigel Travis recently said that the wage hike was “outrageous.”
Travis went on to say that the hike is far reaching. “It’s going to affect small businesses and franchises,” and he noted that it might mean mass layoffs.
Dunkin’ had beaten its Q2 earnings, but signs that things were not looking up were beginning to show.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston, or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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