Dunkin' Donuts Redesigns Stores, Aims To Make Customers Stay Longer

Dunkin' Brands Group Inc. began a redesign of its branches into café-style stores that mirror design elements of Starbucks Corp.'s coffee shops, including earth tones and jazz background music. Industry observers say the company's stores could use the improvement, with the doughnut store chain tied for the second-lowest atmosphere score among beverage and snack shops, according to a 2012 survey conducted by Nation's Restaurant News magazine and WD Partners. Dunkin' has opened around 90 branches featuring the revamped decoration, with the number expected to hit 600 by end of 2013. Other chains are also revamping their stores, with Wendy's Co., for example, installing flat-panel TVs, fireplaces, and cushioned seats. Starbucks' capital expenditures for fiscal 2013 will be around $1.2 billion, with two-thirds of the money going to refurbishment and improvement of cafés and construction of new stores.