Maxi’s actively cultivates an interactive space through social media platforms Digital communities using a variety of electronic devices have developed around brands that harness social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Yolandi Ferreira, Maxi’s marketing manager, says savvy South African franchisors have recognised just how valuable these communities can be to advance their brands and are actively engaging with them by creating an interactive space in which consumers can communicate both their good and not so positive experiences. Digital publishing has become a part of today’s retail world and restaurant franchisors like us have learnt very quickly to promote our brands on social media platforms to encourage consumers to try us out and to keep coming back. There’s a lot of material to draw from in order to present content that is always engaging. In addition to our menu and special offers, we talk about our Corporate Social Investment programmes, community events, m...

Engel & Völkers opens Market Centre in Dubai  The opening of its Market Centre (MC) in the Arab Emirate of Dubai marks the latest stage in the expansion of Engel & Völkers. It spans 850 square metres in a prime location close to the world-famous island project “Palm Jumeirah”. The MC accommodates 250 real estate agents and is dedicated to the brokerage of high-end real estate throughout Dubai’s entire metropolitan region. In addition to these central office premises, the MC concept also envisages the opening of at least two property lounges in strategic locations throughout the city, aimed at initiating contact with potential clients.  Dubai is the largest city by population in the United Arab Emirates. Known as a central axis linking the East and the West, it boasts one of the fastest growing property markets in the world. “The economy has been particularly strong for some time now. Prices have been stable at a high level since 2012. This is ideal for a real es...

Domino’s Pizza’s friendly service and quality food warmly welcomed by the friendly city Domino’s Pizza, one of the world’s best loved pizza brands, has arrived in Port Elizabeth and judging by the enthusiastic welcome received from local residents, this delicious hand-tossed pizza will soon become first choice among fast food connoisseurs.  The recent opening of three new stores in Linton Grange, Walker Drive and Newton Park was greeted with much excitement, with queues of people waiting to savour their first bite of a Domino’s Pizza. The celebrations included the delivery of a stack of scrumptious pizzas to the hard-working police officers of Linton Grange Police Station and delighting the Grade 4 learners at Laerskool Verkenner with the opportunity to make their own pizzas at the Linton Grange store.   "Domino’s Pizza hit the ground running in the South African market towards the end of last year with the opening of six stores and we enjoyed an excellent start to 2...

FRANCHISING SINGLED OUT IN MINISTER OF SMALL BUSINESS, LINDIWE ZULU’S RECENT SPEECH IN THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY Lindiwe Zulu After a year in office and in her address on the occasion of Budget Vote 31 in the National Assembly last week, Lindiwe Zulu of the Ministry of Small Business reiterated her mandate of leading and being the commanding voice for Small Business and Cooperatives within government. “Our hawkish eyes will search and grab every opportunity presenting itself in support of growth and sustainability of SMMEs and Cooperatives.” Minister Zulu singled out franchising as a catalyst for economic growth and job creation. “The department is determined to transform the franchising sector through various measures and one of them is to develop more franchisors from townships and rural communities. We have started a process of identifying and packaging successful and profitable businesses based in township and rural areas. Micro-franchising is still at its infancy stage in So...

Clarification upon clarification likely when it comes to the implementation of revised B-BBEE Codes Nhlanhla Sigasa Commenting on the recent clarification notices issued by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) relating to the now active revised B-BBEE codes, Nhlanhla Sigasa, Director at SizweNtsalubaGobodo believes that going forward even more clarification will be required. “The DTI in its clarification notice on 5 May 2015 (which was withdrawn and replaced by a clarification notice on 15 May 2015) indicated that organisations with a financial year ending on or before 30 April 2015 will be measured according to the old codes. While organisations with a financial-year ending on or after 1 May 2015 on the other hand, will be measured in terms of the amended codes.  This clarification is still noted as such in the clarification notice of 15 May 2015. “However what the DTI has failed to take into consideration here is the fact that the financial year-end and what is...

Engel & Völkers adds private jets to its portfolio  The Engel & Völkers Group has expanded its service portfolio to include the brokerage of business aircraft and private jets worldwide. The new business division Engel & Völkers Aviation is specialised in aircraft sales and charter. “Engel & Völkers clients are wealthy, with sophisticated demands and expectations. They lead luxury lifestyles and enjoy travelling – both for business and pleasure. We are seeing a growing need for this service amongst our real estate and yachting clients. This opens up significant opportunities for our company and means that we can now offer customers even more services from one single source,” said Christian Völkers, Founder and Co-CEO of Engel & Völkers AG, on the future potential of the new business division.  The Cessna Citation CJ1 seats six passengers and is on sale through Engel & Völkers Aviation for 1.1 million dollars (approx. 1.0 million euros).   ...

Global retailer Krispy Kreme to open 31 shops in SA over next five years Global retailer Krispy Kreme has announced that it has signed a development agreement with local company KK Doughnuts SA (Pty) Ltd to open 31 Krispy Kreme shops in South Africa over the next five years. This marks the company’s first venture into Africa.  Fournews (Pty) Ltd., and John & Gerry’s Brands (Pty) Ltd., are the principal owners of KK Doughnuts SA. Majority owner, Fournews (Pty) Ltd, a 20-year-old South African company who have their footprints firmly placed throughout South Africa and are steadily expanding into Africa, currently operate six other well established brands: Cafe Fino, News Cafe, Smooch, Moyo, illy GO! and with Brooklyn Brothers soon to launch.  “With our 15 years of experience in the industry and our joint venture with Fournews, we are extremely proud to bring this iconic global brand that is Krispy Kreme, into the South African market,” said Gerry Thomas, CEO of KK Do...

Training is key for prospective franchisees’ success  For franchisees to be successful, a strong and formative management approach is necessary, where emphasis is placed on elements such as stock control, organising, planning, staff management and understanding the rules of the franchise. Training Manager at Sandwich Baron, Sergio Martins, says without this kind of structure and management, franchisees could struggle to achieve the profit margins they require. Training is therefore imperative to help franchisees fully understand the franchise’s business system, resulting in exceptional service, quality, consistency and great profit margins. The key capability needed to run a successful franchise is the ability to follow the business system and the regulations of the franchise brand. At Sandwich Baron, we expect franchisees to be fully committed to delivering top service, and consistency in a quality product, which require them to be able to work on food costs and implement c...

Five insurance nightmares that keep business owners awake at night Load shedding is at the top of the agenda  Bryan Verpoort South African business owners’ worst fears of the 2008 blackouts re-occurring are being realised with billions of rand in potential economic growth being wiped out every month as widespread power outages affect the country.  “Load shedding currently tops the list of insurance nightmares keeping business owners awake at night. But they are also nightmares which businesses can insure against,” says Bryan Verpoort, Head of Corporate and Business Insurance at Standard Bank, as he unpacks five insurance risks that every business owner should make sure they are adequately protected against:    Load shedding Persistent load shedding is the number one insurance nightmare for companies and individuals, because most policies simply do not cover the consequential damages that could arise from a power cut. Mr Verpoort says the problem is t...

Franchise Growth Worthy franchise operators are relegated to the sidelines, not because they don’t have the skill, but because they lack access to sufficient cash and collateral to qualify for commercial funding. By Kobus Oosthuizen Commercial banks typically insist on an owner’s cash contribution of at least 50 percent of the set-up cost, as well as additional security in the form of unencumbered fixed assets, before a loan for the establishment or acquisition of a franchised business will be considered. These stringent funding requirements disqualify many a potential operator from owning a franchise, regardless of his or her ability to successfully manage such a business. How then would a young entrepreneur, who has not yet had the opportunity to accumulate cash or assets, get into business? We hear daily how the country needs its young entrepreneurs to set-up their own small businesses, but without cash to meet commercial bank requirements, they have no means of securing t...

Crowdfunding, a new source of income for CFOS The dynamics in the business world have changed and a lot different to what they were a decade ago. Employees today desire more from their day-to-day jobs. It is common for employees to propose projects, close to their aspirations, that could be harmonised into their day-to-day job activities. Employees have become entrepreneurial.  An ACCA report, Culture and Channelling Corporate Behaviour, suggests that employees are loyal to the following three factors: mastery of one’s subject, autonomy and psychological relatedness of their values. The latter is evident in that a lot of employees desire to serve their community by relating they job activities with the needs in society. “The entrepreneurial approach” has found fame in the corridors of business and more and more employees and businesses are enjoying the benefits of this approach. CFOs and team leaders that embrace such practice are however often faced with the challenge of fi...

Tax benefits of home ownership BY KATHY EAST Those home owners who buy a property with the idea of writing off expenses to reduce their personal tax, should be very clear on what the law states. They should also have clarity on current legislative and administrative changes that impact the SA property industry.  If you own and live in a residential home, there are no tax benefits. Before you invest in a property with the idea of benefiting from any costs, consult a tax consultant, your auditor, wealth managers/companies, or visit your local SARS office to get their expertise first hand. As advised by Craig Hutchison, CEO of Engel & Völkers Southern Africa “We are all responsible for our own finances, and we need to be clear on and fully understand what we are investing our hard-earned money in.  Also, you need to know if this would be a short-term or long-term investment that you are planning. An investment in property is possibly the largest investment you will ev...

Average vs Good in the world of franchising Tanya Spence For anyone wanting to escape the corporate world and the highly competitive job market in favour of running their own business, franchising is an exciting and feasible option. However, National Operations Manager for Sandwich Baron , Tanya Spence, cautions those considering this tried and tested business model to still do their homework well and make sure they are well informed about behaviours in the world of franchising that can make the difference between running a really good franchise or merely an average one.  Franchising opportunities are on the increase all over the world, primarily because this business model is widely believed to be one of the safest and most risk-free ways to start a business and make a long term success of it. But be careful not to expect to buy a “business in a box”, believing that all you have to do is open the doors and customers will come, and that the business will run itself. The d...

Fast food offerings must reflect the pulse of the economic climate Despite the tough economic climate, fast food remains a popular choice for South African families, but in order to attract and sustain a robust customer base, fast food franchisors need to ensure their menus reflect the financial environment and offer customers “more for their money”. Jan de Beer, Managing Executive of The Fish & Chip Co . says this popular fast food outlet has not only recently revisited its national menu to remain relevant to customers’ pockets, but also offers special promotions to attract more business.  With so many fast food choices, South Africans don’t have to go far to find a meal that everyone in the family would like to eat. The local fast food market is very competitive and each player needs to stay at the cutting edge of marketing to arrive at an approach that prompts people to spend their hard-earned money at their particular fast food restaurant.   Fish is the fourth...

Buyers' Remorse BY KATHY EAST There are only a few things in life as exciting as being handed the keys to your new home. That moment is usually the culmination of years of saving and months of searching for the right property. But that feeling of elation can sometimes devolve into feelings of regret. With a decision as big as buying a home, it's no surprise that regrets are common. But the good news is that you don't have to end up among that group. This is according to a recent article in the Washington Post. Most buyers' remorse stems from one of the following issues, so keep these in mind as you view properties. This is according to a recent article by Marshall Park, a real estate broker at Redfin, which appeared in the Washington Post. Neighbourhood/Estate Home buyers are often swayed by the appeal of the home itself and fail to do enough research and investigation about the neighbourhood or the general management of the estate. If you're considering a ...

Engel & Völkers reports record first quarter 2015 results The Engel & Völkers Group remains on its course of expansion and today announces record financial results once again for the first quarter of 2015. The Group have reported  a 25.1% rise in commission revenues over the same period in the previous year to 76.7 million euros (Q1 2014: 61.3 million euros). This substantial growth can be attributed to the good economic climate on real estate markets and the strong presence of the brand – especially in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as in key metropolises and holiday regions in the Mediterranean and the USA.  “We are extremely satisfied with the results for the first quarter of 2015. This continued upward trend shows that we are on the right track with our expansion strategy,” said Sven Odia, Co-CEO of Engel & Völkers AG. Engel & Völkers is forecasting continued growth over the remainder of the year. It will be driving expansion forward with ...