Dunkin Donuts has leased space in Home Depots, so why shouldn’t its competitor, Krispy Kreme, start showing up in Wal-Mart? According to USA Today, the sugar doughnut crowd at Krispy are testing 5 Wal-Mart sites beginning this month. The Krispy Kreme in Mount Airy, North Carolina, allows Wal-Mart customers to watch doughnuts being made. If they get bored with that, they can waddle up to the cash registers and watch dough being made. The other KK locations inside Wal-Mart are in Scottsburg, Indiana, Virginia Beach, Virginia,Christiansburg, Virginia, and Seymour, Indiana. Some of these stores will carry “fresh” doughnuts, others will cook and glaze doughnuts that arrive from another location.
I encourage all readers of Sprawl-Busters to go on a megastore diet. Instead of splurging on cheap Chinese goods and unhealthy fast food, just turn your car around and shop locally instead. Americans overeat and overshop, and now, thanks to this corporate love match, shoppers can do both at the same time. A recent study showed that people who live in sprawled areas tend to be fatter than in low-sprawl areas. Wal-Mart must be hoping that this match will leave other discount stores with nothing but the hole.
