Bakers Delight prepares for surge in franchise enquiries

Bakers Delight franchise to recruit 150 new franchisees in 2010

Bakers Delight is preparing itself for an influx of franchise enquiries in the New Year, as it predicts the effects of the financial crisis will encourage people to start their own business in 2010.

Australia''''s most successful bakery franchise plans to recruit 150 franchisees across new and existing sites with opportunities available in all states and territories as well as in New Zealand and Canada, where the company trades under COBS Bread.

Roger Gillespie, co-founder and CEO of Bakers Delight, said franchise enquiries were traditionally high in the first quarter of the year, but he expected this to increase significantly in 2010, on the back of the GFC.

"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," Roger said. "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 that found around five million Australians are attracted to the idea of starting their own business due to the flexible working arrangements they believe it offers or simply because they want to be their own boss.

Bakers Delight's proven business model, remained strong during the downturn. This was further recognised by the company's recent ranking as the sixth top performing franchise in the industry and the largest, during an independent survey recently conducted by strategic marketing intelligence company 10 Thousand Feet.

Bakers Delight was commended for its strong brand perception, the operational support it provides franchisees and most importantly its return on investment (ROI) when compared to the industry.

The most standout result, however, was Bakers Delight's brand recognition. A massive 94 per cent of franchisees agreed Bakers Delight is a well recognised brand, compared to the industry average of just 56 per cent. Additionally, 96 per cent of franchisees agreed they are passionate about their product, exceeding the industry by 10 percent.

Ian Krawitz, Head of Intelligence at 10 Thousand Feet said "As the number of franchisees grow in an organisation it is often challenging to keep all parties aligned. Bakers Delight has achieved outstanding results in the support of their franchisees, which has been a significant reason for them being able to keep such a large group of business owners satisfied."

Furthermore, when it came to operational support Bakers Delight again exceeded the industry average by 12 per cent with franchisees learning valuable processes from the franchisor and 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.