FASA HONORS THE WINNERS OF ITS AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN FRANCHISING
- DOREGO’S SCOOPS FASA’S PRESTIGIOUS FRANCHISOR OF THE YEAR AWARD
- MASURICK VAN DER WALT, OWNER OF THE TINA COWLEY READING CENTRE IN GEZINA, PRETORIA WINS THE FRANCHISEE OF THE YEAR AWARD
- THE COFFEE STOP WINS BOTH NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR AND FRANCHISOR: LEADING DEVELOPER OF EMERGING ENTREPRENEURS
- BRAND BUILDER OF THE YEAR GOES TO SCOOTERS PIZZA
- EUGENE HONEY OF LAW FIRM BOWMAN GILFILLAN IS THE RECIPIENT OF FASA’S HALL OF FAME AWARD
The 2011 FASA Awards for Excellence in Franchising put the spotlight not only on those franchisors and franchisees that choose to be members of FASA and uphold their high ethical standards, but also highlights the contribution that the sector makes to the various industries within the economy. Its contribution of 11.8% to GDP is larger than many other industries – including agriculture, mining, electricity, construction, transport etc.
Vera Valasis, Executive Director of FASA points out that the association represents the highest number of franchisors in its 32-year history and in the past year over 25 franchises joined, many of them new concepts. “Despite the economic downturn, franchising continues to be a dominant business format as far as SME development is concerned. Across the globe small business is recognized as the safety net of any economy and franchising proved its resilience in the face of the global recession. And, of course, one must also not forget that fascinating anomaly that some of the greatest companies and franchises have been started and built during the worst of times.”
Whilst established brands rest on their laurels, having won many awards over the years, the current FASA Awards have come to reflect the brands that are making waves, shaking things up and are on the up and up. Over the years, as new concepts grow from fledgling to big brands, they use the FASA Awards to mark key stages of their development – with both the franchise sector and the public watching with interest as the burger or pizza brands are pitted against each other, new entrants challenge the status quo and new concepts use the Awards to climb the ladder of success. From just a handful of business sectors, franchising today in South Africa covers 17 business sectors – with a long way to go to reach the over 50 business sectors that developed countries boast.
FASA’s Award category winners include:-
FRANCHISOR OF THE YEAR sponsored by Standard Bank
The 2011 Winner is: EVOLVING BRAND DOREGO’S WINS FASA’S PRESTIGIOUS FRANCHISOR OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Franchise Association of South Africa’s most prestigious award goes to a brand that, since it was started in the early seventies in Cape Town, has cleverly adapted to the changing socio-economic times to become one of the country’s fastest growing food brands. Its 72 stores cater for all income groups, offering a variety of food items ranging from chicken, fish and chips, burgers and sandwiches. Selected stores incorporate a fresh/frozen fish counter.
Joe Dorego opened the first Captain DoRego’s in the spot where the famous Grootte Schuur café was situated. Simultaneously Alf Dorego and Carlos Nunes were trading in Bloemfontein at the time and converted their existing business “Lusitania Fisheries’ to the Captain DoRego concept. After a successful period, the Cape Town operation was sold to Major Foods and later to Inter-Leisure. The Bloemfontein operation remained independent through this period and the brand was eventually taken over by Carlos Nunes in 1996. Gerald Brown and Cedric Brown, involved with the brand with stores in Kimberley, purchased the franchise operation in 2005 and rebranded it to DoRego’s.
According to brothers Gerald and Cedric, the secret to the success of DoRego’s is in its wide appeal and in offering exactly what its customers want. “Where most fast food brands are either foreign based or have a specific core product aimed at a certain sector of the population, we realized very early on that South Africa is a multi-cultural society with diverse and often evolving tastes. From the early 70’s in that Groote Schuur café where fish and chips was the order of the day (hence the Captain DoRego’s branding) to today’s customer that wants a variety of choices, the one constant is in our delivery of exceptional quality fast food, freshly prepared and served in a pleasant, clean and welcoming environment.”
STANDARD BANK, sponsor of the prestigious Franchisor of the Year category and with a dedicated franchise division, continues to encourage the growth of home-grown concepts such as DoRego’s, especially those that afford opportunities to potential franchisees in all locations – be they high-end shopping malls or taxi ranks. Says Thabiso Ramasike, Head of Franchising at Standard Bank, "With franchising showing more resilience than other business sectors of the economy, the likelihood of a franchise business being approved funding is much higher than normal non-franchised business. This is particularly evident in the fast food, retail, fuel retail, telecommunication and automotive sectors. There is greater support, sharing of best practice and predictability, especially in the well run franchised brands. The relationship that Standard Bank has forged with FASA and other key role players in the sector is unique in that once a franchise business has been accredited, appropriate comprehensive banking solutions are devised for specific franchise systems which expedites the provision customised solutions and working capital requirements to qualifying franchisees in that system. As a result, over 80% of entrepreneurs who meet the requirements of the franchisors do get funding.”
For more information contact Gerald Brown on 011 454 4018 or email: gerald@doregos.co.za
The runners-up in the Franchisor of the Year category were:
Fastway Couriers (South Africa) is part of the global franchise brand that has over 1750 courier franchisees in nine countries with in excess of 95 000 customers worldwide. Their entry into South Africa two years ago changed the face of courier services offering affordable business opportunities in the business-to-business sector and to date have 126 outlets.
Scooters Pizza, a home-grown fast food concept, has been trading for 11 years and with a new store opening every 28 days on average (with a total of 140 stores to date) has successfully captured the ever growing pizza eating public with their hot, tasty food and their fast delivery promise.
Spec-Savers, with 223 franchised outlets countrywide, has become a leading brand in the optometric industry in South Africa driven by a positive energy and a passion for service excellence. Their franchisees enjoy in excess of 30% of the optical spend in the country while operating less than 10% of the practices.
The 2011 winner is: MASURICK VAN DER WALT, OWNER OF THE TINA COWLEY READING CENTRE, GEZINA, PRETORIA IS CROWNED FRANCHISEE OF THE YEAR
‘Compassion and passion’ for her calling combined with financial success lies at the heart of Masurick Van der Walt’s Tina Cowley Reading Centre in Gezina, Pretoria. “I always had the dream of working with learners in a closer unit than a school can offer and that is exactly the opportunity that Tina Cowley Reading Centre provides. Giving me a positive attitude towards life and a profitable business as well is the cherry on the top!”
Masurick van der Walt has done the franchise brand proud in Pretoria, where her student results are legendary – whether she is working with pre-schoolers learning their first words, giving therapy to the mentally challenged or helping university students cope with their workload. Her expertise is so valued that she serves as a ‘buddy’ for new franchisees who look to her for support and guidance and is a great motivator for her fellow franchisees.
According to Tina Cowley, the founder of the successful Tina Cowley Reading Centre, who in her own right has won several awards for her contribution to literacy education through her franchise group, considers all her franchisees (of which 94% are women) unsung heroes in a time when reading is a major educational problem in our country. “All my franchisees share my passion for improving the quality of life of children, illiterate adults and people with learning problems such as dyslexia. The fact that they are able to make a difference whilst enjoying the financial rewards of their work is testament to the ingenuity of the franchise system.”
Of the 17 business sectors that franchise in South Africa, the Childcare, Education and Training sector is perhaps the most crucial in that it plays an important part in improving the lives of our children, uplifting the skills of our youth and offering quality training to many adults through the franchise business system. The Tina Cowley Reading Centre, one of the largest in the country with 100 outlets, sets itself apart in that it aims at improving the life potential of the individual rather than just developing a skill.
For more information contact Tina Cowley on 013 656 5748 or email: tinacow@mweb.co.za
The runners-up in the Franchisee of the Year category were:
Steven Dally, franchise owner of DoRego’s, Johannesburg, Gauteng, with his 10 stores scattered around Johannesburg’s CBD and townships, is giving the people what they want – good food at great prices and is carving a niche for himself as a successful franchisee who contributes to job creation and cares for the community he serves.
Retha Veldman of Tina Cowley Reading Centre who owns the Muckleneuk & Alberton franchises in Gauteng runs her two franchises with passion and compassion and believes the partnership between therapist, parent and student forms the basis of her success.
Marietjie Taljaard of Tina Cowley Reading Centre – Brackenfell, Western Cape has, against all odds, risen to be one of the stars of the franchise group. Her sensitive approach to learners who experience barriers to learning and development has helped hundreds achieve success.
Rene Theunissen of Tina Cowley Reading Centre – Eversdal, Western Cape ran the biggest franchise outlet in Kempton Park for 7 years before moving down to the Cape and opening a centre in Eversdal. Only 6 months after starting, she once again had the biggest centre in the country – a testament to her talent and entrepreneurship.
FRANCHISOR - LEADING DEVELOPER OF EMERGING ENTREPRENEURS
The 2011 winner is: THE COFFEE STOP LEADS THE WAY IN EMPOWERMENT FRANCHISING
With unemployment, especially amongst the youth of South Africa as the biggest impediment to sustainable economic growth, it takes the ingenuity of an entrepreneurial franchisor to mobilize private enterprise and a progressive youth financing fund to make a difference and pioneer the innovative empowerment of unemployed youth.
Established with the specific objective of being an empowerment franchise, The Coffee Stop is an initiative with retailer Massmart and the National Youth Development Agency assisting previously disadvantaged youths to becoming small business owners. Derek Smith, Managing Director of Hot Dog Café (Pty) Ltd, also trading as The Coffee Stop, is a man with a mission. “I have always believed that franchising was the perfect business format to nurture enterprise development but in order to establish either social franchising or tandem franchising, one needed the partnership of private enterprise and government financing bodies. With corporate businesses under pressure to get enterprise development points on their BEE scorecard and with government financing agencies looking for ways to help train young people, employ them and offer them entrepreneurial opportunities, we pre-empted President Zuma’s call to aim for 5 million jobs by 2020 and pioneered a unique mentorship program.”
The training program recruits 15 individuals from the local community who participate in a 6-month training and mentoring program where they are trained to be able to work in and manage every aspect of The Coffee Stop. One cadet is then chosen as the Top Cadet and awarded a 51% loan (assisted by the franchisor) to purchase shares in The Coffee Stop store in which they trained.
The Coffee Stop will also ensure that each franchisee has access to finance for their business loan and stand surety of their loans, all the while providing mentorship and coaching for the business owner to ensure the success of their business. Accounting and financial support are also provided by head office on a continuous basis until such time as the franchisee has paid off their 51% loan and is comfortable with the management of all financial aspects of the business.
According to Tonie Roskell, Operations Manager of The Coffee Stop, 100% of all The Coffee Stop franchisees are BEE candidates and need not have business experience to become franchisees. “What is important for us is the determination and enthusiasm from the individual and The Coffee Stop will provide all the training and support necessary to develop the franchisee into a successful businessperson.”
The Coffee Stop goal is to empower as many individuals as possible and believe that their pioneering effort supported by private enterprise and funding agencies will gather momentum and could be the blueprint for a viable franchise roll-out. To date the franchise has trained 105 individuals to be small business owners; eight of them have become franchisees within The Coffee Stop family and five have been provided with franchisee positions within sister brand Hot Dog Café. Many, armed with the business training they received, have gone on to open their own small businesses using the platform that The Coffee Stop afforded them.
For more information contact: Derek Smith – 012 664 7213 email: derek@hotdogcafe.co.za
The runners-up in this category were:
DoRego’s has established a strong foothold in the emerging market, both in terms of their product offering and in targeting emerging entrepreneurs as franchisees. They are not only successful in these areas but contribute to job creation and the upliftment of communities.
Hot Dog Cafe remains a pioneer in the development of public/private enterprise development partnerships and in nurturing entrepreneurs from previously disadvantaged backgrounds – especially the youth - through grass-roots cadet initiatives.
Nizams, a retailer catering to the masses offers opportunities to franchisees with no previous FMCG experience. Through intensive guidance all stores are performing well and affording their owners a good return on their investment.
The Courier Guy’s mentorship program takes general workers or drivers and nurtures them to franchisee level. The company also assists with loan facilitation, provides vehicles and even guarantees the income of the franchisee for their first 6 months in operation.
NEWCOMER FRANCHISOR OF THE YEAR
The next time you pop into one of eight Builders Warehouses around the country and sit down to a relaxing cappuccino and snack in their in-house The Coffee Stop restaurant, take note that everyone working in that store – from the waitress to the kitchen staff, from the owner to the cleaner – has been given training, employment and a business opportunity through The Coffee Stop’s empowerment cadet scheme.
The Coffee Stop boasts not only a brand that has become synonymous with Builders Warehouse but is structured around creating opportunities for previously disadvantaged South Africans who have little or no capital and equivalent opportunity.
Tired of hearing meaningless theories from both the private and public sector on the need to develop the entrepreneurial skills of the emerging market, most of whom don’t have either the opportunities or the funding to enter the franchise sector, Derek Smith, Managing Director of Hot Dog Café (Pty) Ltd and its subsidiary The Coffee Stop, was determined to prove that it could be done in practice. “Fully aware that unemployed youth have no chance of succeeding without the key elements of skills training, financial assistance and on-going mentoring, we looked at finding partners who were prepared to contribute to the upliftment of these unemployed youth.”
The Cadet Program is the result of three parties coming together to assist unemployed young South Africans from previously disadvantaged backgrounds to get the training and know-how so that they can pursue self employment. All franchisees and staff are sourced from local under-privileged communities. Unemployed youths are then able to provide assistance to their families and in turn have a positive impact on their local community. Each franchisee is then encouraged to get involved in charities and projects within their communities in order to give back.
The Coffee Stop has grown steadily throughout the four years of operation with eight in operation; in Builders Warehouse Nelspruit, Gleneagles, Northgate, Kempton Park, Zambesi, Centurion, Port Elizabeth and Durban. To date not one store has been closed since opening and in time all Builders Warehouses will have The Coffee Stop in store.
For more information contact: Derek Smith – 012 664 7213 email: derek@hotdogcafe.co.za
The runners-up in this category were:
Fastway Couriers (South Africa)
Part of an internationally recognized brand, Fastway Couriers has in its two years in South Africa opened 126 franchises. Not only is their service and price unmatched in the industry but the barriers to entry into Fastway for franchisees are low.
BRAND BUILDER OF THE YEAR
The 2011 winner is: SCOOTERS PIZZA WINS BRAND BUILDER OF THE YEAR WITH AGGRESSIVE MARKETING CAMPAIGN TO GAIN MARKET SHARE
Staying ahead of the game and being top-of-mind are crucial elements to franchise brand Scooters Pizza’s quest to becoming one of South Africa’s leading pizza brands. Getting the balance between brand awareness and great value product offerings lies at the heart of their ‘Double up with Double Deals’ campaign which has earned them the Brand Builder of the Year award.
According to Renier Hattingh, Managing Executive of Scooters Pizza, a lot of research goes into planning and monitoring a marketing campaign such as the Double up with Double Deals one. “Knowing where one sits within the pizza take-away market is crucial to our marketing planning,” says Hattingh. “Once we establish that, we plan our promotions to gain market share and increase the national footprint of our stores through promotional offers that are competitively priced and off the best value for money in the pizza segment.”
Reaching the Scooters Pizza primary target market which is male and female, age 18 – 45, income A-C, LSM 6-12 – predominantly family units, young couples, new parents, starting out at home singles, meant combining a whole range of marketing strategies. Scooters Pizza’s brand campaign ‘Why have 1 if you can have 2 - Double Up with Double Deals’ was centered around a strong above-the-line campaign on TV, supported regionally and locally below-the-line with flyers, in store point of sale and backed by PR, web, sms, locality marking and sampling campaigns.
A School VIP card program to help schools raise funds by facilitating the sales of a voucher card not only created awareness but also produced great results with one school in Kempton Park benefiting to the tune R40 000 which was put towards building new classrooms.
“When analyzed, the Double Up with Double Deals promotion reached over 60% uptake at its peak in relation to total transactions, which is almost unheard of and was rated as highly successful in our business.”For further information contact Renier Hattingh on 011 608 1999 or email renier@tasteholdings.co.za
The runners-up in this category were:
Boost Juice Bars, started in Australia ten years ago and with 200 outlets in 16 countries has ‘Love Life’ as its core philosophy and markets the ‘green’ living ethos of pure and wholesome nutrition through promotions and events across a wide media spectrum.
Maxi’s market penetration as a family restaurant has grown cementing their position as the preferred breakfast, lunch and early dinner destination of the South African family. Their recent marketing push was to the kids market with innovative menus, advertisements, promotions and activities.
Roman’s Pizza successfully expanded their market share footprint with aggressive yet entertaining advertising that delivered their unique product offering at great value for money without compromising on quality.
Sandwich Baron caters to the lunchtime trade and to the delivery of day-to-day snacks and boardroom orders to companies. Their marketing efforts, which include TV, radio spots, on-line listings, print media and loyalty programs has seen their profile and profits raised.
FASA’S HALL OF FAME AWARD
THE HALL OF FAME RECIPIENT - EUGENE HONEY OF BOWMAN GILFILLAN
FASA’s Hall of Fame award honors individuals or companies who have made not only a significant contribution to the franchise sector but have played a positive role in the running of the franchise association. The success of any representative association lies in the commitment and enthusiasm of its members and the participation of those members in all facets of FASA’s mandate – from standing for nomination on council and excecutive to sitting on FASA’s various committees that handle issues that affect its members and the industry at large.
In today’s political and socio-economic climate, the many laws introduced by government have weighed heavy on FASA’s resources, both intellectual and financial. According to Vera Valasis, FASA’s Executive, “the Consumer Protection Act, in particular, was a veritable minefield which, in its initial stages, allowed franchisees to hand back their franchises in the same way they would a faulty retail item. FASA, representing the industry had to act fast to educate government on franchising and to convince them to use FASA’s Code of Ethics, in use for the last 32 years and in line with international norms, as the foundation to the sections pertaining to franchising. To do that FASA needed to tap into the generosity of our members and one such member was Eugene Honey of law firm Bowman Gilfillan – the recipient of the 2011 Hall of Fame Award.”
Eugene, head of the Intellectual Property department at Bowman Gilfillan is a long standing member of FASA and as its legal advisor has fought many battles for the association – steering it in the right direction and providing valuable input to government regarding franchise related aspect such as the CPA and other related regulations.
Eugene acts for many local and international franchisors and licensors particularly with regard to the structuring, set up and development of franchise and license systems, including the preparation of franchise and license agreements, distribution agreements or the auditing thereof, as well as advice in relation to the operations manual and the disclosure document.
For further information contact Eugene Honey on 011 669 9670 or email e.honey@bowman.co.za
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