Master Class: Priceless advice from your peers – Source: Franchising.com
We’re now six months into the year, a perfect time to reflect, analyze, and assess your first-half performance. To aid in that process, we’ve compiled a mini-Master Class, a “greatest hits” collection from the first 18 months of this newsletter, featuring topics critical to the success of multi-unit restaurant franchisees—growing from one unit to many; the challenges of operating multiple units; securing capital for growth; finding the optimal locations; best use of technologies; managing a crisis at your stores; the future of the restaurant industry; and predictions and advice for franchising in 2025.
How do you decide on the locations for new units? What factors or data points are most critical in your analysis? (Issue #4, Feb. 26, 2024)
HANNIBAL MYERS
Company: President & CEO, Global Restaurant Hospitality Group
Brands: 41 Church’s Chicken in Southern CA and Western AZ
Years in franchising: 32 (27.5 on the franchisor side, 4.5 as a franchisee)
When thinking about potential locations for new units, in addition to the usual attributes of favorable trade area demographics, there are several factors/data points I look for:
Is there a true demand for my brand offering in the trade area? (General, but not to be overlooked)
Would the development of the new location cannibalize sales at a nearby profitable location by more than 15%?
Will the location be equal to or superior to that of any key competitor(s) in the trade area? (Highly desired, though not an absolute deal breaker for the ideal location)
Is there an acceptable presence and volume of the core customers for my brand within 8–10 driving minutes during the lunch and dinner daypart windows? (Most critical)
Is there an acceptable presence and volume of “likely” customers for my brand within 5–8 driving minutes during the lunch and dinner daypart windows? (Most critical)
Is there strong average daily traffic on the main artery past the location, and a lack of any blockage of access to the site during rush-hour traffic? This will vary by brand. (Most critical)
Is there good ingress and egress for the location during the lunch and dinner daypart hours? (Most critical)
Is there good visibility of at least one side of the building on which building signage will be installed from both directions on the main artery? (Most critical)
Is there the existence of or the ability to install a pole sign (as opposed to only a monument sign)? (Highly desired, though not an absolute deal breaker for the ideal location)
Has the location housed a national or regional brand offering a similar service or product in the recent past that failed? If so, how might any lingering impressions affect customers’ propensity to give my brand a try?
How robust is the trade area competition for QSR workers?
– Source: Franchising.com