Timothy's World Coffee
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| Timothy's Coffees of the World Inc. | |
|---|---|
| Type | Private |
| Founded | 1975 |
| Headquarters | Ontario |
| Key people | Ian McKinnon Becky McKinnon |
| Industry | Restaurants |
| Products | Coffee Doughnuts Bagels Muffins |
| Employees | unknown |
| Website | http://www.timothys.ca |
Timothy's World Coffee (a.k.a. Timothy's) is a large Canadian chain of coffeeshops.
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[edit] Origin and background
Timothy's is the third-largest Canadian-owned chain of cafés, behind Tim Hortons and Second Cup. It was founded in 1975 as a retailer of premium roasted coffee beans by Timothy Snelgrove and his wife Teresa Snelgrove. The company was originated as a business-school project Snelgrove undertook while studying at the University of Western Ontario. As the company expanded, it evolved its retail offering to include brewed coffee, now the mainstay of the retail side of its business.
Timothy's is differentiated from Second Cup in that it does its own coffee-bean buying and roasting in its own plant in Toronto. For this reason the company offers a freshness guarantee and other supporting company policies.
[edit] Management
The current chairperson of the company, Becky McKinnon, originally joined Timothy's in a support role. In 1985, the McKinnon family acquired ownership and control from Tim Snelgrove and Becky became President.
Becky's husband Ian, who had a career in the investment industry, spent many years in the chairman role while Becky was president and CEO, but after Ian's retirement from his investment career, he has asserted operating control, swapped roles with Becky and is the company's president today.
[edit] Expansion into the United States
In the late 1990s, Timothy's expanded into the United States, concentrating in New York City. Other stores were located in Boston, Washington, and Philadelphia. At one point, it was New York City's second-largest coffeehouse chain, after Starbucks. The US business never performed well. After 9/11 the company closed its American operations and the company refocused on the Canadian market.
[edit] Expansion into South Korea
Timothy's opened its first overseas store in Seoul, Republic of South Korea on May 19, 2007. Timothy's Korea plans to open more than 50 Timothy's World Coffee stores in the South Korean Market over the next several years.
[edit] Current business
Timothy's has since purchased the existing GrabbaJabba stores in Canada. It later acquired the mmmuffins and Michel's Baguette retail businesses. Today, the company operates some 140 Canadian stores under the Timothy's name. Timothy's also operates a wholesale coffee business, supplies office coffee service companies, packages coffee in K-cups for Keurig home and office brewers, and has a limited distribution program in convenience stores, sports clubs and similar venues.
The McKinnons are reported to have been seeking a buyer for the company. In the last several years, there has been very high turnover in management staff, and quite limited investment in new store locations, as the company drives toward increased operating profitability. Same-store sales growth is perceived to have flattened. Franchisee relations have become strained, as the company's priorities have shifted from system development to franchisor profitability, and as a result of the very different management styles of the two principals. Industry observers expect a transition in ownership and a renewed focus on long-term success, since the company does control quite a number of strong retail locations.
