Franchise Business Opportunities

Malta Independent Online:

Michele Peresso Fashion Ltd, a member of Michele Peresso Group of Companies, has opened a second UPIM department store in Melita Street, Valletta.

UPIM Valletta has a total retail area of 967 sq. m. and is spread over seven floors.

In order to offer total comfort to their customers, Michele Peresso Group has installed more escalators to all floors. The additional escalators were installed in the building under very difficult conditions due to both the structure of the building and street restrictions. Thus, a total number of five escalators will now make it easier for the numerous patrons who are expected to visit and browse around the store and benefit from the good value for money products on offer.

With its 967 sq. m., UPIM Valletta is surely one of the largest retail shopping centres in Valletta, and the largest in the core of the city’s commercial centre.

The Michele Peresso Group of Companies and UPIM have kept their commitment to invest heavily in the Maltese Islands, notwithstanding adverse economic conditions.

The Valletta opening is part of a €6 million investment for the next years, as announced last March on the occasion of the opening of the first UPIM Store in Gozo.

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Myrtle Beach Sun News:

Fortunes at chain restaurants are tumbling, the fallout from a strategy of slashing menu prices in the hopes that a cheap meal will be enough to entice diners back to their booths.

Instead, diners are ringing up smaller checks, or simply staying home.

And the deep discounts, like the two meals for $20 being offered at places such as Chili’s and Applebee’s, come with a high cost for sales and profits. Some worry the chains are creating a culture of diners looking only for a cheap meal.

“These companies are competing any way they can to get customers in the door,” said Morningstar restaurant analyst R.J. Hottovy.

While the discounts became prevalent this year, the problems restaurants are facing stem from when the U.S. economy was flush, people were eating out more and developers could get easy credit for construction projects.

Since 2001, the number of so-called “casual dining” restaurants in the U.S. has grown 14percent, according to market research firm NPD Group. The number of chain restaurants in the category has grown by more than 26percent.

News-Journal.com:

A new name in the world of barbecuing is expected to arrive in Longview sometime in December, according to Rick Howell.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit is slated to open at 2330 Judson Road in the former home of Pizza Hut, which Howell recently purchased. He is in the process of getting permits for renovation work on the structure and hopes to have the longtime home of pizza ovens converted to smokers for opening before the end of the year.

Dickey’s has been a mainstay in the Dallas metro area for years and was founded there in 1941. The barbecue operation has ventured into the franchising end of the restaurant business and has 115 stores in 25 states with another 50 under development, Howell said.

“We’ll be very heavily involved in catering and take out,” he said. The new Dickey’s Barbecue will feature seating for about 90 and also will have a drive through window, Howell said.

PR.com:

The G.J. Gardner Homes – Northern Colorado franchise, owned and operated by Bill and Kimberly Stenberg, has entered into a marketing agreement with New Home Associates of Colorado.

Success in Colorado Springs market accelerates Northern Colorado plans
In April 2009, Brook Swientisky, Colorado/Wyoming Master Franchisor for G.J. Gardner Homes, announced the marketing agreement between his company and New Home Associates of Colorado, initially in the Colorado Springs area. In 2008, New Home Associates of Colorado sold 1 out of every 5 new homes in El Paso County. Bill Kuemmerle, GRI, ABR, ABRM, President of New Home Associates of Colorado, is an award-winning new home sales person with 23 years combined experience in the real estate industry, 10 of those years with custom home builders.

“We expected that Bill’s extensive experience would boost sales for our Springs franchisee, but the results were beyond our expectations. The franchise’s sales through August of 2009 are four times the units sold in all of 2008. Now the Stenbergs are poised and ready to move to the next level through this alliance,” says Swientisky.

Franchise Wire:

Rob Goggins, vice president of franchise development for Great Clips, Inc., revealed the news as reported in the October issue of Franchise Times magazine, the information source for the franchise community for the past ten years.

“Great Clips ranked 90th in system-wide sales in the magazine’s annual Top 200 listing of worldwide franchise chains,” said Goggins. “There were only two salon brands ranked and Great Clips was the only one in the top 100. We’re fortunate that our business is recession resistant—average same-store sales for our Great Clips salons have increased consistently for 20 consecutive quarters.”

Great Clips leads the hair salon business with nearly 2,800 franchised units throughout North America. A typical franchisee invests in the business in order to transition out of corporate America. “Our business model allows individuals to keep their day jobs while building their salon businesses on the side,” says Goggins.

PR Web:

Mark Reynolds, President of Ruffin’s Pet Centre, is very excited to announce the company’s latest charitable program. “The help us help homeless pets program was developed with support from our franchisee’s,” stated Mark Reynolds “and we have received a significant positive response from our customers already”.

The Barkery developed an all natural, handmade, fresh cookie in the shape of a doghouse specifically for this program. All of the proceeds from the sale of our Dog House Cookies will go to local non profit animal shelters. Keith Gear, VP Finance, is pleased that the franchisee’s have developed great relationships with their local animal shelters. “This program allows our franchisee’s and their customers to contribute to their community and provide a fabulous treat for their pet at the same time.”

Blogcritics.org:

In these times of economic change many people are looking at their future career path. Many are pushed forward by the impulses of ambition, redundancy, or sometimes preparation for retirement, and see franchising as a route to self-employment and a potential way forward. Clearly a franchise business and self-employment is not right for everyone.

Below are a number of pointers for finding the best franchise for you. The tips will help you decide if in fact franchising is right for you or not:

1. Determine what it is you are best at and most enjoy doing. Making a major lifestyle move will usually work best if your work revolves around doing what you enjoy and do best.

2. Talk to your partner or spouse and explain your thoughts and desire to build your own franchise business. It’s important that the people who would be most affected by any change in your employment status, understand your motives. Ensure that those close to you will be there for you emotionally and financially if required.

Read on…

AZ Central.com:

Aaron Sinykin’s long-term goal was to earn enough income so his wife could stop working once they began having kids and have enough flexibility to spend quality time with his family.

He didn’t see that happening, though, in his job as a finance analyst at Intel Corp. in Chandler.

“It was the standard workweek – eight to four, eight to five – kind of being on call with e-mail all weekend for issues,” Sinykin said. “Basically, I had to report to someone else and I was kind of at the mercy of how fast that company wanted to move me up, no matter how hard I was working and what the results were. You kind of had to wait your turn in line.” He added, “We knew if we wanted to meet those goals, we would have to look for something different.”

Sinykin and his wife, Debbie, decided franchising was their best option.

“I felt like I had the guts to go out and start a business but I didn’t have the guts to develop my own concept yet,” he said. “I wanted to make sure we had some safety in terms of branching out there.”

Read full story.

Photo: Jack Kurtz / The Arizona Republic.

Sun-Sentinel.com:

Schakolad Chocolate Factory locations in Davie, Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach are hosting a holiday preview party 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Tuesday.

Guests can dip pretzels and fruit in a chocolate fountain and there will be free samples of chocolate champagne glasses and non-alcoholic beverages. All corporate purchases made on Tuesday will receive a 15 per cent discount.

Schakolad (pronounced shaq-oh-LAD) was founded by Baruch Schaked, who started his chococlate making career in 1969 in Argentina.

Reuters:

Interstate All Battery Center (IABC) today announced its weekly podcast series offering potential franchisees insightful tips and expert advice on franchise and business opportunities. Building on the incredible growth the brand is continuing to experience, the nearly 60-year-old company is proud to offer its ingredients for creating and maintaining strong strategic partnerships, while sharing its experience as an industry innovator and one that has proven to be recession resilient despite the down economy.

“Franchisors are adapting faster to using various social media platforms, however only the top ten to twenty percent of companies are actually actively participating,” says Eric Stites, President of Franchise Business Review.

“Podcasts are a great forum for franchisors to share best practices with their prospective franchisees and it’s great to see Interstate All Battery Center committed to this initiative.”