Franchisee profile: The Lea Family Years with the company: Since May 2005 – converted from Pizza haven
Description of role at Domino’s Pizza:
Franchisee in Papakura and Manurewa, New Zealand.
Reason for joining Domino’s Pizza initially: I started working for Dial-a-Dino’s in 1993 and wanted to buy a franchise back then, I thought it would be good business to get into. However by 1995 Pizza Haven took over Dial-aDino’s so we (my family and I0 bought the Pizza Haven Maurewa store and it’s been uphill ever since.
Career Progression:
- 1992 – 1995 Studied Bachelor of Commerce at Auckland University
- 1993 – 1995 Dial-a-Dino’s delivery driver (first three months), then became a store manger. Following this, I assisted in managing the Browns Bay Dial-a-Dino’s store
- 1995 Dial-a-Dino’s aquired Pizza Haven, re-branded the store
- Dec 1995 – My family bought the Pizza HAVEN Manurewa franchise
- 2003 Split the Manurewa area and built the Papakura store
- May 2005 converted to Domino’s Pizza
Best aspect of working in the Pizza Industry:
The lifestyle – not working 9am to 5pm. A good store manager also allows you to have more flexibility with your time.
Proudest personal achievement working in the pizza industry: Becoming the worldwide number one Pizza Haven store in 2003/2004 for around 6 months to a year. I believe this is due to our unique set up whereby our family works so well together. We tend to complement each others strengths. The combination of two younger people and two older people works – we have the more aggressive balanced by the cost savers.
What would you say to someone thinking of becoming a franchisee in the pizza industry: To someone thinking of becoming a franchisee in the
pizza industry I say to them make sure you look after your staff and your customers. If you do that you should have a successful business as the two core groups become the centre of everything that you do. Marketing will only work if your focus on your customers and your staff. And enjoy!
Future goals within Domino’s Pizza:
Hopefully to own five
Domino’s Pizza stores before end 2010 – we already have one under discussion.
10-Sep-2007