Bakers Delight prepares for surge in franchise enquiries

Bakery franchise group, Bakers Delight , is preparing for a flood of franchise enquiries in the New Year, as it is predicting that the effects of the financial crisis may encourage people to launch their own business in 2010.  

The successful retail bakery franchise is planning to recruit 150 franchisees across new and existing sites. Opportunities are available in all states and territories as well as in New Zealand and Canada, where the company trades under COBS Bread.

Co-founder and CEO of the bakery franchise company, Roger Gillespie, said franchise enquiries were traditionally high in the first quarter of the year, but this was expected to increase considerably in 2010, on the back of the GFC.

Roger said, “Owning your own business is the new Australian dream for a large number of Australians who want to take control of their own destiny and pursue self employment. The holiday season is typically a time when people reassess their options and the economic crisis has made evaluating the future more top of mind than ever.”

The attractive prospect of operating your own business was highlighted in

A recent survey by St.George Bank found about five million Australians are attracted to the idea of starting their own business because they want to be their own boss or due to the flexible working arrangements they believe it offers.

Bakers Delight’s business model, has remained strong during the downturn and this has been recognised by the bakery franchise’s recent ranking as the sixth top performing franchise in the industry and the largest. These results are from an independent survey recently conducted by strategic marketing intelligence company, 10 Thousand Feet.

The retail food franchise was applauded for its strong brand perception, the operational support it provides franchisees and most importantly, its return on investment (ROI) when compared to the industry.

Bakers Delight’s brand recognition was a standout result with a huge 94 per cent of franchisees agreeing that Bakers Delight is a well recognised brand. This is compared to an industry average of just 56 per cent. In addition, 96 per cent of franchisees agreed they are passionate about their product, exceeding the industry by 10 percent.

Also, Bakers Delight again exceeded the industry by 12 percent when it came to operational support, with franchisees learning valuable processes from the franchisor. The bakery franchise group also exceeded the industry by 16 per cent when it came to providing tailored support to franchisees wanting to take on multiple units. Additionally, Bakers Delight outperformed the industry by 9 per cent when it came to providing good training to franchisees.

“It is great to see that our franchisees get so much value from the way we operate and the proven business model established over the past 29 years of operation. These results confirm we’re on the right track, which is very encouraging,” Roger said.

Prospective franchisees can source further information and the opportunity to speak to existing franchisees by contacting Bakers Delight.