HolyCoast: The Cookie Crumbles
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Sunday, August 17, 2008

The Cookie Crumbles

Bad news for Mrs. Fields:
The struggling privately owned Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, owner of the famous mall-based cookie stands and TCBY yogurt stores, said Friday it plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, according to a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Mrs. Fields is plagued with $200 million in debt, a slowing economy where consumers have cut back on discretionary purchases and record-high dairy and ingredient prices. The company also saw the resignation of its Chief Executive Officer Stephen Russo late last month.

The company, in their most recent SEC earnings filing, reported a net loss of $10.7 million last quarter, compared with a loss of $1.4 million in the same period last year. Because the company is privately held, it doesn’t report a profit or loss on a per-share basis.

Mrs. Fields was founded in the late 1970s and has around 1,200 franchisees of its famous cookie stands in malls across America. The company purchased the yogurt brand TCBY in 2000 as well.

We used to get Mrs. Fields cookies every now and then, but frankly, they were overpriced and not as good as cookies we could get from other stores. I don't think we've bought from Mrs. Fields for years.

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