What do you consider to be your product offering's unique selling point?
The Grill’d franchise concept delivers a healthy burger experience unlike any other. The business model has commercial viability and strong consumer appeal, capitalising on the shift towards healthy, great tasting and convenient meal solutions.
Great importance is placed on branding, store design, teamwork, customer service and culture. “It’s the culmination of our people and our product that set us apart. We are a young, growing company with the momentum and confidence to expand our presence on a national scale. We believe that our franchise opportunity is an exciting one that will firmly secure Grill’d as Australia’s Number One premium, healthy burger chain”.
What evidence exists that the fast food, restaurant franchise sector has room for more franchisees?
“I’m not sure this is relevant to us. As a small player we are (1) creating a new category and (2) stealing share from other stale, non contemporary, poorly managed franchise systems.
The Grill’d model is one that will always involve a blend of company owned and franchised stores. We will only offer properties to franchise partners that we would be willing to occupy as a company owned operation. Hence, we are not 100 per cent reliant on finding franchisees. With that said, the profitability, positioning and excitement of our brand will attract the attention of great potential franchisees. We will not compromise on our position to accept only A-grade franchise partners. We expect that many skilled, experienced and enthusiastic franchisees from other systems will recognise the unique opportunity that is Grill’d”.
What are the start-up costs and ongoing fees associated with being one of your franchisees?
Start up costs
The initial investment is expected to range from approx. $300,000 to $400,000 per store. The actual cost will be dependent on a number of factors including the store size, location and condition. This investment includes costs such as outlet selection and complete shop fit-out to the Grill’d stringent quality standards, equipment, furniture, working capital, initial administration and security deposits and a one-off Franchise Fee. “Unlike others, we’ve been completely transparent – no hidden costs here!”
Ongoing Fees
A 7 per cent royalty of sales and 3 per cent marketing levy is payable weekly by all franchisees.
This ensures the provision of ongoing operational support and marketing of the Grill’d brand. Note that all figures are GST exclusive
On average, how much net profit can a typical franchisee earn per year?
There is no typical franchisee. As with any business, there are many variables that will influence the profitability of a Grill’d franchise including the skill and performance of the franchise partner, adherence to the Grill’d system and proven processes, size of the store, competitor activity, customer service, etc.
Existing company owned stores are delivering an average profit of $200,000 per store.
A Grill’d franchisee should be able to manage their store even better than a company owned store. Hence, the profit potential is significant.
What is your franchise's success/failure rate?
The overwhelming response to the first Grill’d store in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn led to the quick succession of four additional company owned stores. The success of the company owned network led to the decision to franchise the business, with the first Grill’d franchise store having opened at Knox O-Zone Shopping Centre at the start of June 2006.
According to Matt Walker, who owns and operates the Knox franchise together with his brother Brad, the store is “performing well beyond initial expectations, up 50 per cent on where we expected to be after the first month.
At this stage Knox is the best performing store in the group of six which is great as the bar had already been set at a very high level”.
Simon Crowe, Managing Director, firmly believes that the people have been instrumental to the success of Grill’d which is built on passion, a great culture, hard work and a fantastic team.
“As such, we are placing great emphasis on getting the right people to join Grill’d as franchise partners to maximize their success”.
There is much more information available regarding buying a franchise and running a franchise.
27-Nov-2006