Investors push Caribou Coffee shares up as CEO steps down

: Caribou Coffee Co. is replacing President and chief executive officer Michael J. Coles, who oversaw the growing of the nation's second-largest coffee concatenation but not of its stock price.

A regulating filing Tuesday said that in six calendar months Coles would acquire $1.35 million (€0.92 million) in exchange for agreeing not to litigate for "termination without good cause." Coles will remain with the company as a director.

Caribou named Rosalyn T. Mallet as interim CEO. She joined the company in March as president and main operating officer. She was previously a director.

Another director, Gary A. Graves, was named chairman.

Coles was hired as interim chief executive officer at Caribou in January 2003 and got the occupation permanently a few calendar months later. He became president in 2005. He had co-founded the Great American Cookie Co., which he sold in 1998. Today in Business

Coles said Tuesday that he had planned to remain at Caribou only three to five years.

"My aim at the clip was to make a serious No. Two rival in the cafe space," he said.

Caribou now have 473 coffeehouses. Starbucks Corp. have 14,396 supplies around the world.

Caribou shares closed at $12.02 on the twenty-four hours of their initial populace offering in 2005, but by Monday, when Coles' surrender was announced, they closed at $5.15. Caribou shares rose 7 cents to fold at $5.22 on Tuesday.

Same-store sales have got been lackluster, rising just 1 percentage in the one-fourth that ended Sept. 30, and they declined during some quarters. Caribou have lost $15.5 million (€10.61 million) so far this year, more than than dual last year's comparable figure.

Piper Jaffray analyst Nicole Glenn Miller Regan said some of Caribou's jobs are beyond management's control, with terms rising for fuel, milk and labor.

"I don't believe it's so easy to just point fingers. I believe there are a batch of moving pieces," she said.

Coles strongly suggested that Mallet would go his lasting replacement. "We're going to be looking for many of the qualities and accomplishments that Roz possesses," Coles said on a conference phone call Tuesday.

Mallet, 52, said she would go on Caribou's current strategy, which have included gap more supplies through franchisees and expanding partnerships such as as its trade for Caribou-branded snack bars, distributed through General Robert Mills Inc.

"I believe we all anticipate continuing down a very similar path," she said.

Mallet previously was an executive director with insouciant dining eating houses la Madeleine Delaware Corps Inc. and Applebee's International Inc.

Although Caribou is publicly traded, it is controlled by Bahrain-based Arcapita Depository Financial Institution B.S.C. Messages left at Arcapita's Capital Of Georgia business office were not returned.

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