Skip to content
minibusinessideas

Case study · Mrs. Fields

How Mrs. Fields grew from a slow first day and free samples to 425 cookie stores

TL;DR

Debbi Fields opened Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery in Palo Alto, California on August 13, 1977. Few customers came before noon, so she handed out free cookie samples in the walkway and ended the day with $75 in sales. By the late 1980s there were 425 stores. The lesson: if people are not walking in, bring the product to them.

How it started

Debbi Fields was born in East Oakland, California in 1956 and married financial consultant Randall Fields in 1976. According to Encyclopedia.com, he was somewhat skeptical of her cookie shop idea but helped her start the business.

Mrs. Fields Chocolate Chippery opened on August 13, 1977 in a downtown food arcade in Palo Alto. Sources differ on the exact opening date and on her age, so this case study keeps to the year and the location.

How they got the first customers

Before noon on opening day, few customers had come into the shop. Fields loaded a tray with cookies and handed out free samples in the walkway during the lunchtime traffic. People tried the cookies and came in. She finished the day with $75 in sales.

The lesson is simple and cheap: give people a taste in the place where they are already walking.

What drove growth

The company grew through company-owned stores, which opened in malls and other high-traffic places. Encyclopedia.com reports 225 stores opened between 1985 and 1988, and by the late 1980s there were 425 cookie stores in the U.S. and abroad with annual retail sales over $87 million.

Debbi Fields began franchising existing retail locations in 1992, and franchisees had to work at a current store for at least three months. In 1993, she gave up 80 percent of the company to lenders who had provided over $94 million for expansion, though she remained the largest shareholder.

The company later went through hard times. Wikipedia reports that Mrs. Fields filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August 2008, and that Z Capital Partners became sole owner in 2013. Heavy debt used to buy other brands and expand fast is the cautionary part of the story.

Lessons you can copy

  1. 1Give away samples where people walkFree cookies in the walkway turned a slow day into a $75 day. Sampling lets the product do the selling.
  2. 2Pick high-traffic locationsA downtown food arcade, then malls, put cookies in front of thousands of people. Foot traffic does the advertising.
  3. 3Do not judge a launch by the first morningThe first hours were slow. Have a plan B ready for opening day.
  4. 4Train franchisees from withinRequiring three months of store work before franchising protects quality and culture.
  5. 5Be careful with debtDebt financed rapid growth and later left the company exposed. Growth you can afford is safer than growth you cannot.

Frequently asked questions

How did Mrs. Fields get its first customers?

On a slow opening day in 1977, Debbi Fields handed out free cookie samples in the walkway outside her Palo Alto shop. She finished the day with $75 in sales.

When did Mrs. Fields begin franchising?

Encyclopedia.com lists 1992 as the year Debbi Fields began franchising existing store locations.

Who owns Mrs. Fields now?

Wikipedia reports that Z Capital Partners became the sole owner in 2013 and that the company is privately held.

Start something similar

More case studies