Leadership

Duck Donuts' CEO departs amid layoffs

Betsy Hamm left the doughnut chain as some corporate staff was let go, while some franchisees close their doors.
Duck Donuts
Several executives with Duck Donuts were either laid off or left the company. | Photo courtesy of Duck Donuts.

The CEO of Duck Donuts left the chain earlier this month amid layoffs and a number of store closures. 

Betsy Hamm, who was named chief executive in 2021 following the doughnut chain’s sale to the private-equity firm NewSpring Capital, resigned this month, according to a post on the social media site LinkedIn. 

“As with any great story, this one is turning the page to a new chapter for me,” Hamm wrote. 

That came amid an uncertain number of layoffs at the Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania-based company. Several executives, including executives overseeing operations, technology and marketing, were either laid off or have left the company in recent weeks, according to a search on LinkedIn and a source who asked to remain anonymous.  

That all comes amid reports of closures around the country, including suburban Charlotte, Louisville, Kentucky, Akron, Ohio and the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. 

The Minnesota operation, meanwhile, has been embroiled in a number of controversies. The Mall of America evicted the location for unpayment of rent, and the buyer of the two Minnesota locations sued the seller, claiming they violated numerous conditions of the sale. 

Last week, a Minnesota banker was charged with falsifying documents associated with those locations to make them appear more profitable than they were, which caused the buyer to lose $300,000, according to local reports. 

Duck Donuts was founded in 2007 and was named after Duck, North Carolina. The company finished 2023 with 128 locations, according to Technomic, and locations averaged $580,000 in sales per year. System sales that year grew just under 10%. 

Representatives for the doughnut chain did not respond to requests for comment. 

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