Diana Williams from Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs In the early 90s Diana Williams recognised an untapped market for a women-only gym. With co-founder John Clow, the pair were just in time to beat overseas competitors to the market, and rolled out the hugely successful Fernwood Women’s Health Clubs franchise, which now boasts 75 locations around […]
Roger Gillespie, founder of Baker’s Delight and Brumby’s bakery chains Roger Gillespie knows his dough. A fourth-generation baker, Gillespie started his first bakery to help fund a local school in 1975. This became the first Brumby’s. In 1980 he launched Baker’s Delight, to great success, and the stores kept coming. There are now 700 franchisees […]
Belinda Fraser and Melanie Bourne, founders of endota spa Long-time friends, Belinda Fraser and Melanie Bourne hatched the idea for endota spa—day spa—when they ran into each other at a barbecue. They started endota spa with two credit cards and a belief in their concept. Young and female, they’ve had to persevere to be taken […]
Tom Potter from Eagle Boys Jobless at 23, Tom Potter borrowed the money to open his first pizza shop in Albury, NSW. Twenty years later he has expanded the Eagle Boys Dial-A-Pizza franchise to some 180 stores Australia- wide, with a current annual turnover in excess of $110 million.
Jim Penman from Jim’s Group Jim Penman started Jim’s Group in 1982 with a second-hand lawn mower and a trailer. Today, Jim’s Group is one of the largest home service franchises in the world with Jim leading 20 divisions, totalling 2,300 franchisees in three countries.
Luke Baylis & James Miller from Sumo Salad Two young IT professionals, Luke Baylis and James Miller, took the humble salad and cooked up a multi-million dollar business. Despite their lack of retail experience, the duo are building a fast food brand to rival the big boys. The first Sumo Salad store opened just three years ago, […]
Here’s a checklist of inspiration for aspiring exporters. Our collection of 50 favourite export case studies shows that there is no magic ingredient to making it to the world stage, but it certainly helps to get the basics right. Sylvia Wilson on Bark Busters Exporting since: 1999 Key markets: New Zealand, UK, US. With 409 […]
Franchisors recognise the rise of the ‘international’ market as the world is getting smaller and the need for products and services is getting larger. Rod Young assesses the emerging global franchise trends and the significant opportunities they create Over time, experienced franchisors have learned that a focus on establishing profitable businesses that create greater value […]
More businesses than ever before are embracing franchising. So what exactly has prompted these organisations to deviate from the traditional business development path, and adopt franchising as a growth strategy? Rod Young provides some crucial direction for those considering franchising. The Franchising Australia 2006 survey identified that approximately 1000 Australian businesses operate within the definition […]
Want to own your own business, but are unsure whether to go out on your own or buy into a franchise? Kristy Sheppard weighs up the options. New business owners are increasingly going down the franchise path, which is reflected in the growth of Australia’s franchising industry (on a per capita basis, the most heavily […]
