Major franchise holder makes the transition from Scooters Pizza to Domino’s Pizza Sheldon Williams Major Scooters Pizza franchise holder, Sheldon Williams, has converted nine of his 16 Scooters Pizza stores to Domino’s Pizza outlets. His other five stores are expected to convert next month, and the last two conversions are set for later this year. This project is part of the nationwide conversion of all Scooters Pizza and St Elmo’s pizzerias to Domino’s Pizza being implemented by Master Franchisee, Taste Holdings, in its bid to position Domino’s Pizza as the number one pizza company in sub-Saharan Africa.  Williams, who bought his first two Scooters Pizza outlets in partnership with his wife, Lisa in December 2006, says his own personal goal is to see Domino’s Pizza become the number one pizza offering in every neighbourhood he trades in.   “We’ve primarily grown our footprint in the industry by acquiring existing stores at premium rates,” he explains. “We saw an o...

Scooters Pizza’s Whizzkid Week supports Youth Month With South Africa focused on celebrating Youth Month, Scooters Pizza has joined in the fun once again by hosting their annual WhizzKid Week – proving that making pizza really is child’s play! Sean Lilley, Marketing Manager of Scooters Pizza, provides some insights on this initiative. “Whizzkid Week ran from 16 to 21 June this year and has been an essential part of Scooters Pizza since 2001. Whizzkid Week forms part of Scooters Pizza’s ongoing commitment to sharing our pizza passion, as well as educating and uplifting the children in our franchisees' local communities.” As part of the celebrations, Scooters Pizza invited local schools to pack away their books and put on their aprons for a day.  The concept is simple - the children come into their local store, where they learn a bit about the exciting history of pizza, before being taken on a working tour of the backstage areas of the stores. This is where they learn...

No cheesy welcome for Scooters Pizza’s new managing executive   Carlo Gonzaga One of South Africa’s leading pizza franchises, Scooters Pizza, has seen major internal changes with new blood in the management team as they welcomed Owen Viljoen as managing executive to the popular pizza brand.   Viljoen has already made his mark at Scooters. His fresh ideas and dynamic thinking set him apart from the rest and the Taste Holdings team is more than happy with his internal changes and looking forward to great brand growth.   As managing executive of the Scooters Pizza team, Viljoen brings with him a mass of experience in retail management which will stand him in good stead to grow the Scooters Pizza brand. After obtaining his Bachelor of Engineering and an MBA at the University of Pretoria, Viljoen worked as a management consultant in logistics, supply chain and organisation development. In 1994, he joined Gilbey’s in Johannesburg as manager of industrial engineering...

Taste Holdings secures exclusive master licence for Domino's Pizza, world's largest pizza chain Taste Holdings this morning announced that it has signed an exclusive 30 year master licence agreement to develop the international Domino’s Pizza brand, initially in seven Southern African countries, including South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique.  Zambia and Malawi will follow on the fulfilment of certain conditions. Domino’s Pizza is considered the world's leading pizza delivery brand in both store numbers and unit sales, and has over 10,800 outlets in more than 70 countries. The brand will form part of the growing Taste Holdings stable and will become the group’s leading pizza franchise offering as Scooters Pizza and St Elmo’s franchisees will be given the opportunity and assistance to convert to Domino’s Pizza. CEO of Taste Holdings and founder of Scooters Pizza, Carlo Gonzaga, says that the both Scooters Pizza and ...

3 habits of highly successful franchisees   To be a franchise owner is one thing, but to be a successful franchise owner is another. Many people think the day they open up the doors to their business is the day they automatically start making money but it’s not as simple as that. To be a successful franchisee or in fact a successful entrepreneur in general, you need to adopt the necessary habits for success. Sean Lilley, the Marketing Manager of Scooters Pizza shares some insights of the habits necessary for business success.   Habit 1: Connect with your customers Your customers are your bread and butter, without them you only have a product or service that is useless to an unreceptive market. Research shows that by connecting with your customers emotionally, you have a 300% chance of being recommended to others, they are 44% less likely to shop around for a similar product and they are 33% less sensitive to pricing.  Your priority should therefore be to kno...

Find the business you’ve been looking for – in one weekend   It is common knowledge that due to tried and test business formula, franchising offers potential business owners more security than traditional self-start businesses . In addition to selecting a sector and a business franchise that you will enjoy, looking for a good business profit model, researching high integrity propositions, understanding the legalities and pros and cons of franchising in general, you have hundreds if not thousands of opportunities to choose from. This year the International Franchise Exhibition (IFE), which will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre from 10 to 12 April 2014, will again offer potential franchisees the perfect platform to gain an understanding of the business opportunities available in South Africa. Over 50 different franchise brands will be exhibiting at the event, with Scooters Pizza being one of them. Sean Lilley, Marketing Manager of Scooters Pizza states th...

When Charlie Oliver needed a new challenge following some five years’ experience at an international franchising group, he decided that ‘local is lekker’ and put his management skills and passion for people to the test by purchasing his own Scooters Pizza store in Milnerton. Oliver summarises his management approach as creating equality for himself and his staff. “A previous employers’ slogan of: ”People capability first and profitability will follow” is one that impressed me immensely and it has stuck with me since then. By allowing employees and management to help run the business processes and be more actively involved, creates an opportunity for them to meet their personal needs, and also my business goals.” He believes that the key elements to running a successful store include skilled and motivated people, sound management and financial practises, and innovative products that meet and exceed customer expectations. CEO of Taste Holdings, Christo Calitz expresses his confi...

With an overwhelming love for pizza, Petrus and Cecile van der Merwe, along with their son, Heinrich, decided to take this passion to the next level and become the new owners of Scooters Pizza Menlo Park. The van der Merwes’ - strong family values are perfectly aligned with the Scooters Pizzas brand’s principles of integrity, innovation and respect.  They believe if you manage your life and run a business with these three values in mind, you are already halfway on the road to success. In addition to solid morals and ethics, Petrus’s financial know-how gained from 32 years’ experience in the banking industry, will contribute to the family’s goals of running a prosperous business. Since taking over ownership of the Menlo Park store, the family has secured eleven jobs, and created one additional job opportunity. Petrus upholds that motivated employees play a major role in contributing to the profitability and productivity of any business. “My management approach does not only...

The new Scooters Pizza Musgrave store owner, Vishnu Govender, believes that serving a customer is an honour and a privilege, and an ethos that he is driving among his employees. Having previously worked in a senior management role at a pulp and paper factory, Govender decided to pursue a career as a Scooters Pizza franchisee to put his business knowledge into practice at his store and because he believes that the fast food industry in South Africa remains a lucrative investment choice. He maintains that the key to running a successful franchise is the ability to understand the needs of the customer and to have a key focus on service delivery and product quality. His management approach entails involving all staff in achieving the transparent store goals set for 2013, and in rewarding exemplary performance through incentives. “My main objectives include returning the business to profitability within the next three months and to increase store revenue by fifty percent within the n...

Sean Lilley, who has recently been appointed as the marketing manager of Scooters Pizza, brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise to the role, having been employed as a senior marketer for over 14 years. Lilley has worked for some of South Africa’s most renowned food brands, including holding a position at Woolworths head office and Nando's global division Worldwide Licensing (WWL). The latter position incorporated foods and franchise marketing in South Africa, Central and East Africa, South East Asia, the Middle East and Cyprus. His duties included developing and implementing integrated Through The Line campaigns, setting up marketing systems, and hiring and training marketing managers and partners in nine countries outside of South Africa for Nando’s WWL. Further, while he was at Woolworths, Lilley managed the marketing function of eight out of ten product categories at Woolworths, and grew many brands exponentially through marketing interventions. He was res...

With a new owner at the helm, Scooters Pizza Florida Junction is ready to serve pizza lovers on the West Rand with only the best pizzas at this refreshed store. The store, situated at Florida Junction Shopping Centre, welcomed its new owner, Rudolph Shawe and showed off its new look on Monday, 8 April at an elaborate opening event. Scooters Pizza, which was rebranded in 2012, is now boasting a more energetic feel that is sure to ignite a ravenous hunger for pizza among customers. Shawe, who was previously involved in an importing and distribution business, is confident about his ownership and the difference that his management style will make to the dining experiences of his customers. “I am thrilled to be able to add value when serving the people in my community and fully intend to ensure that customers enjoy a dining experience unlike any other. I have no doubt that visitors to our store will appreciate the high level of customer service we are able to offer and become loyal p...

Regular patrons of Scooters Pizza Cresta and Scooters Pizza Blairgowrie can expect their “slice of the good life” to be better than ever before as both stores have just acquired a new owner. John van Rooyen has taken over the ovens at both stores and is looking forward to significantly improving quality and service levels. Van Rooyen, who acquired the Cresta store in January 2013 and more recently the Blairgowrie store, has a Master’s degree in Management from Wits Business School and has gained extensive experience in senior leadership roles at various businesses. Equipped with this experienced background and acquired knowledge, Van Rooyen notes that he is more than capable of making a considerable impact on the stores as he has what it takes to ensure both stores are run effectively. “Owing to my expertise in strategic management and corporate governance, I have the business experience required to affect positive on-the-ground change at both Scooters Pizza stores. Subsequently, ...