Dunkin Brands Group
Annual Report 2014

Plain-text annual report

Dear Shareholders, Since going public in July 2011, we have added nearly 2,500 stores globally, grown our revenues by more than 25 percent, grown operating income by more than 50 percent, and returned nearly $860 million to shareholders. Highlights from our performance in 2014 included: This success has been achieved by our unremitting focus on franchise economics and commitment to driving value for our shareholders. Besides being extremely proud of what we’ve accomplished since becoming a public company, I am also very excited about the long-term growth prospects for Dunkin’ Brands. In addition to our strong financial performance in 2014, both brands had notable achievements last year, including: Very strong domestic restaurant level unit economics and robust U.S. restaurant develop- ment for both of our brands, including the opening of our first traditional Dunkin’ Donuts restaurants in California; Growing transactions in the Dunkin’ Donuts U.S. business in the face of macroeconomic and competitor headwinds; Positive net store growth and comparable store sales growth for Baskin-Robbins U.S. for the second straight year; The launch of the DD Perks loyalty program, which grew to more than members in the first year; The launch of Baskin-Robbins online ice cream cake ordering, which has been a major catalyst for our cake category and overall brand growth; Significant progress retooling our international businesses, demonstrated by new international development agreements in Sweden, Austria, and China; A successful debt refinancing, which we began at the end of 2014 and completed early this year. As a result of our new debt structure, we have more financial flexibility, a stable fixed-interest rate, and the ability to return value to shareholders by repurchasing shares with the net proceeds. I’m proud of all we accomplished in 2014 and the significant progress we made to position our company and our brands for the future. Looking ahead, we remain focused on delivering on both our short- and long-term financial targets and are aligned as an organization behind five key priorities: Grow the relevance of our brands around the world with a focus on beverages. Dunkin’ Donuts is a leader in the U.S. beverage category, and we continue to strengthen this leadership as we grow our restaurant footprint in the U.S. as well as around the globe. We recently took another major step forward with this priority with our announcement that we had signed an agreement with J.M. Smucker and Keurig Green Mountain to make Dunkin’ K-Cups® available both online and in thousands of retail outlets in addition to our restaurants. Expand global consumer engagement efforts in mobile, loyalty and social media. Enhance the guest experience around the world. First and foremost, the success of our brands begins with the guest experience. Together with our franchisees and licensees, we are focused on constantly improving every aspect of that experience from the service behind the counter, to the products we serve and the appearance of our restaurants.  Continue to implement our sustainability plan. Our work to find a more environmentally friendly alternative to our iconic Dunkin’ Donuts foam cup is just one example of the efforts we have underway to be an even more responsible retailer. Another initiative is our DD Green program, which is our sustainable U.S. restaurant development program that we introduced in 2014. Intensify our focus on high potential domestic and international markets, including California, Europe, the Middle East, and China. Given our two strong global brands and the consumer appeal of our concepts, we believe we have an incredible runway for expansion. I would like to thank our franchisees, licensees, crew members and corporate employees for all they have contributed to our success, and thank you for your investment in Dunkin’ Brands. We look forward to continuing to drive value for you, our shareholders. Nigel Travis CEO Dunkin’ Brands, Inc. 

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