Atkins Nutritionals Files for Bankruptcy

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Privately owned Atkins Nutritionals Inc. has filed for bankruptcy, as the low carbohydrate diet fad has continued to fizzle, impacting the company’s sales. The latest figures show only 2.2 percent of consumers are following a low carbohydrate diet, down from 9 percent at the height of the craze, the “London Times” reported. Founder Dr. Atkins, who died in April 2003, received the National Health Foundation award in 1985. The diet has never been endorsed by the American Medical Association, which says it lacks scientific basis, and risks coronoray artery disease.

Krispy Kreme Stumbles Recounted

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Krispy Kreme managed to stumble into most of the pitfalls in the franchise model, according to the cover story of the June, 2005 issue of CFO Magazine. It focused on growing revenues and profits at the parent-company level, while its franchises struggled. Raw materials and equipment were sold to franchisors at exceptionally high profit margins. The brand lost its mystique, as Krispy Kreme dougnuts went on sale for the first time at grocery stores, gas stations, and kiosks. In 2004, the SEC launched a formal investigation into the company’s buybacks of several franchises, while franchisors alleged “channel stuffing.” Krispy Kreme stock has dropped from it $50 mid-2003 high to $6 in early May of 2005.

Maryland Professor Documents Dot-Com Ventures

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The Chronicle of Higher Education reported that David Kirsch, a University of Maryland Professor, has created an electronic archive, documenting the rise and fall of Internet-related ventures over the period 1996 through 2002. The archive, which was started thanks to grants from the Alfred P. Sloan foundation and the Library of Congress, so far lists basic information for 2,400 dot-com companies, with about half of these entries fleshed out with business plans. The archive also offers “Top Ten Lessons from the Dot-Com Meltdown.”

Foundations of a Winning Business Plan

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Karen Grajwer, a second year MBA student at Harvard Business School won the HBS Business Plan Contest for her plan for a company called Uplift, which will offer sophisticated, fashionable bra styles for fuller-sized women. Grajwer’s advice for future entrepreneurs: 1) surround yourself with a good team, and 2) know your market.

DVD Rental Company Credits Blog for Doubled Sales

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The San Francisco Chronicle reports that an online DVD rental company is now receiving 80,000 visitors per month to the GreenCine Daily Blog , with daily dispatches from film festivals around the world. Owner Dennis Woo had doubts when an employee first asked permission to start the blog, but now credits it for doubling his sales in 2004.