The advantages of looking for proven franchise opportunities

The advantages of looking for proven franchise opportunities, and those that research and test new concepts before rolling out to the wider franchise network

Stephen Spitz | Director | Xpresso Delight 

When looking at franchise opportunities, it is worth considering having a look at their operating history. Franchises that are newer may provide you the chance to see the trajectory of the franchise and where it’s headed, while franchises that have been established for longer may have operated through different market conditions and could allow you to see their approach to changing and adapting to new challenges.

Xpresso Delight started as a franchise in 2004. In the 10 years since it began, Xpresso Delight has operated through some difficult market conditions and despite this has continued to operate strongly. In recognition of this 10 year anniversary, Director Stephen Spitz shares some of the experiences he has learned over this time and highlights some of the benefits of choosing a well-established business when looking at franchise opportunities.

There are many franchise investments available with different characteristics that appeal to different individuals. One characteristic that is important to many people is the length of time which the business has been in operation.

An investment in a franchise system is a significant commitment and as franchisors we understand that prospective franchisees want some assurances that the franchise opportunities they are looking at are stable and will be a going concern. A franchise system that is over ten years old like Xpresso Delight gives the opportunity for potential franchisees to ask why that system has been around for so long.

A franchise system that has been operating for over a decade will have seen dramatic changes in the market. A key question to ask when looking at franchise opportunities is how resilient a business is to fluctuating economic conditions.

“A franchise system that is over ten years old like Xpresso Delight gives the opportunity for potential franchisees to ask why that system has been around for so long." 

Franchises, like other businesses, are not immune to the ups and downs of our economy. These fluctuations influence sales and business growth which will in turn affect a franchisee’s financial bottom line. It is important when considering franchise opportunities to examine the properties of the business. At Xpresso Delight, we continued growing through the GFC. The nature of coffee as a lifestyle product and our competitiveness compared to traditional cafes has meant that sales during this period were quite stable. Xpresso Delight has also had a focus from the top of keeping fixed costs low, and being able to work from home means our franchisees have no overhead and no built-up day to day running costs. .

A franchise can be both resilient to the fluctuating economy, and be quick to adapt to the market in order to take full advantage of new opportunities. When looking at franchise opportunities, another key question to ask is how a franchise adapts to new practices and conveys these changes to the wider franchise network. 

Some franchise management styles can be reactive. We at Xpresso Delight have a proactive style. Our master agents talk to our franchisees regularly in order to get on-the-ground feedback and new ideas, allowing us to stay in front of the market. Our flat line structure compared to some other franchise opportunities also allows us to convey rapid change through the network. However, prior to this we work with our franchisees to ensure total buy in of the proposed changes. We do this by testing the changes in the market and obtaining evidence based results before communicating this through our network. This ensures that not only will the changes be proven to improve our franchisees’ businesses, but that any transition from an old to new system happens smoothly and with the full agreement of the franchisee.