Country Style
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Country Style, formerly Country Style Donuts, is a chain of coffee shops in Ontario and serves donuts, soup, sandwiches,salads, and coffee. It is known for the quality of its coffee and is reputed to be the only Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) that grinds its coffee beans fresh for each pot of coffee.
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[edit] Organization
As of January 2006, there were 120 "traditional" locations in Ontario. There are also 257 "non-traditional" locations embedded in other stores such as gas stations and movie theatres. Over 70% of customer purchases in 2001 were coffee. In addition, there are 29 retail bakeries operating under the Buns Master name. Buns Master Bakery Systems Inc. is a 100% owned subsidiary. In total, Country Style has over 400 locations in Ontario under the Country Style name.
[edit] History
Country Style has been in business for over 40 years. By 2001, Country Style had been forced to close a quarter of its stores due to decreasing market share in an increasingly competitive Canadian market. Since then, it has opened many new stores and currently ranks third behind Tim Hortons and Starbucks in the Canadian coffee market.
In mid-1990s, the Country Style logo changed to use a font similar to Palatino instead of its former handwriting font.
In 2006, Country Style changed their image to a more upscale style. The new image includes a new logo, a new website, and an enhanced branded deli menu that will be phased into all stores. The logo still uses the Palatino style font and will also be phased into all stores. New stores will feature more modern design features, somewhat similar to Starbucks.
[edit] Advertising
The "Every Coffee Wins" and "Turn up a Winner" promotions offer numerous prizes, including Country Style food prizes, to be won each year. Similar to Tim Hortons' "R-R-Roll Up the R-R-Rim to Win" promotion, one plays by unrolling the rim of the coffee cup to possibly reveal a prize voucher. In April 2003, Country Style partnered with the Make a Wish Foundation as their corporate charity of choice. Since then, Country Style and its franchisees have raised in excess of a quarter of a million dollars for the foundation.
