BRANDS NEW YEAR
Ready, steady, go... these newbie franchises are pumped up for 2018. Are you?
Get inspired with these newbie franchises just starting out.
Why not start the year off with a fresh franchise... a brand that has just started its expansion as a franchise, a brand that has a special niche, a brand that you can grow with? Here are seven options that fit the bill.
FIRST INDEX
Are you keen to invest in the financial markets to secure your future? Then you will join the 11.2m Australians who hold investments outside their institutional superannuation fund, according to the ASX Australian Investor Study 2017.
The study also reveals 60 per cent of investors take some professional advice to help them make investment decisions.
And that’s where the newest business opportunity is targeting its growth.
First Index is a bricks and mortar trading franchise network that launched in 2017 and is now set for 10 Melbourne locations over the next three months.
This is expected to ramp up to a new franchise opening every three weeks.
The business is part of AGM Markets, a fully regulated global financial company with related offices in Europe and Israel, and it offers trading across indices, commodities, shares and foreign exchange.
What’s different about this trading opportunity is the branch-based model
that allows franchisees to deliver education, expertise and service to clients.
Kevin Lacey, national franchise development manager at First Index, says “We will invest in you and your future potential, by providing extensive training, ongoing support and mentoring and equity financing. The franchisor provides 24/6 customer support to your clients.
“Our model operates in spaces from 55sqm premises up to 110sqm and offers your customers access all year round.
“We also offer a great range of class options unlike banking institutions as well as our popular ‘First Index Training Programs’, for which you obtain additional income from selling to your clients.”
Investment in the franchise starts at $100,000 for an exclusive territory with fit-out costs, depending on site size, another $100,000.
The model works with low staffing costs, Lacey says, and provides access to an AFSL licence, business management, sales and retention systems, and franchise team support and training.
SPEEDFIT
Imagine if you could squeeze all your tough gym training into just one session. That’s the central point of Speedfit, an Aussie business set up by Matej Varhalik using a technology familiar to Europeans for decades.
The technology is electro magnetic stimulation, and is similar to the nerve activation in a Tens machine which is commonly used for pain relief in physio sessions and childbirth.
Clients wear specially provided fitness suits while undergoing the fitness session.
The beauty of the fitness model for clients is that they bring nothing to the studio - everything including special clothing, grooming products, a shower towel - is provided.
It targets professionals who want an intense 20 minute session with an instructor with a maximum of two clients per class. In a day franchisees can accommodate between 25 and 35 clients.
Varhalik says “Many clients can exercise because there is no impact. It works with eight muscle groups, each group undergoes 120 contractions in 20 minutes. You can use this once a week, you need time to recover.”
In addition to the specially designed routines, clients can purchase supplements and participate in nutrition workshops.
There is a personal touch required to run a franchise, but Varhalik insists it is an easy business to manage.
He decided in early 2017 to franchise, and has sold five licenses to one client. There are also seven company owned outlets. In 2018 he plans to open 20 studios.
WALKERS DOUGHNUTS
A brand that’s new to franchising, but Melbourne doughnut aficionados will know the store that started the sweet treat sensation in 2006, opposite Flinders Street station.
It’s distinctive branding emphasises the old-school American feel of its menu - jam doughnuts, US style hot dogs, milkshakes and old fashioned sodas.
But it’s the doughnuts that everyone loves: sales generally account for between 70 and 80 per cent of total store sales with coffee, sodas and hot dogs the remainder of the turnover.
And there’s more to this popular ball of dough than a dusting of sugar... Jim and Rose Stoupas started the business and Jim has a food science background; he insists on yeast-raised doughnuts made without perservatives.
Making these items daily, and allowing the fresh dough to slowly ferment, is integral to the flavour of these old-fashioned doughnuts.
So how does the brand stay competitive in a cost-conscious treat market?
“Our doughnuts are priced competitively. We offer deals like six hot jam doughnuts made fresh for you for only $6 and value packs of any doughnuts including Nutella or Custard in dozen and half dozen boxes from $18,” says Rose Stoupas.
Now there’s the opportunity to invest
in the success and buy a franchise. The fourth store in the network, and the first franchised outlet, is at Werribee Plaza, with franchisees Gavin and Jackie Wheeler at the helm.
This is just the beginning; the Stoupas’ expansion plan for 2018 is to open 10 new stores, starting with further growth in the Melbourne market.
The Walker’s Doughnuts franchise has been designed to suit hospitality-experienced franchisees or first-time operators with a passion for food and retail, and investment is between $200,000 and $250,000.
CORE+
Spotting a trend for shorter, sharper fitness sessions, Michael King saw an opportunity to develop a new model. Already attuned to the sector running yoga studios with his wife, King decided to crease fusion classes, a contemporary spin on traditional yoga poses.
“We’ll mix it up with kettlebell weights,” he says.
The classes also provide fans of yogastyle exercise - 70 per cent are women - with a 45-50 minute option rather than the 90 minute traditional sessions typically on offer.
Mixing up the exercise styles means Pilates moves are taught incorporating hand weights and on a reformer bed.
“It’s traditional apparatus but almost a choreographed class,” explains King.
Instructors are responsible for creating an upbeat mood, including a curated music playlist.
The model has been trading for nearly three years with two corporate studios, the franchise offer a relatively recent option, introduced in August 2017.
So far two franchisees have been signed up for February and March studio openings (Hawthorn East and Preston), with one more expected to open in early 2018 in Port Melbourne. By the end of the year the plan is to have up to a dozen franchised outlets operating.
King wants to maintain a collaborative approach with franchisees and is looking for individuals who can help shape the business and share their skills across the network.
“We’re attracted to franchising because we’re working with other people who can bring their own experiences.”
A boutique studio costs between $200,000 and $350,000 depending on site size. This includes fitouts, franchise fee, set up costs and training. Equipment leasing is a separate cost.
The model works for investors but the
best economic option is to be an owner/ operator, King says.
IBROW THREADS
Established in 2014 in South Australia by Jeevitha Sivapalan and Roha Joshna, this eyebrow threading kiosk model is just launching its franchise offer.
Seven outlets are company run in the home state, and in the ACT.
While the focus is on shaping the brows, the treatment menu also includes brow tinting, eyelash lifting and facial threading.
Head beautician and managing director of iBrow Threads, Sivapalan will oversee franchisee training, staff selection and store openings as she has done with all the company owned stores.
Joshna takes on the role of site selection and lease negotiations. He will also oversee all aspects of the shop fitout and have regular contact with franchisees for the on-going operation of the business.
Opening up the model to franchisees, it’s important to find individuals with a passion for beauty and a willingness to learn, says senior marketing coordinator Emma Voigt.
The goal is to have iBrow Threads kiosks in every major city and regional areas of Australia and buyers can expect to invest upwards of $100,000.
MELT SHOP
OK, not strictly a new franchise but brand new here. Is Australia ready for the melted sandwich? The directors of US franchise chain Melt Shop certainly believe so.
Australia is one of the brand’s targeted overseas markets.
“Australia is exciting and filled with potential. With the right partners, we could see Australia becoming a strong market for Melt Shop,” says Spencer Rubin, Melt Shop’s founder and managing partner.
Rubin believes the company is perfectly positioned to begin franchising internationally and in addition to Australia is looking to expand across the globe with the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Japan, China, India, Mexico, South America, Canada and Western Europe on the destinations list.
“We recently expanded into the Middle East and will open seven locations in the region, with four opening in Kuwait by March 2018.”
So what exactly is the Melt Shop and why is it a viable business opportunity?
It was established in 2011 and now has eight corporate locations in New York, Philadelphia, and Minneapolis. Parent company Aurify Brands is a hospitality-focused business founded by multi-unit franchisees.
The Melt Shop has an ambitious global target of more than 100 locations over the next five years.
“Melt Shop has spent the last six years tirelessly perfecting our brand and business model. The timing is right to bring our New York-born fast casual concept to the world,” says Rubin.
High-quality ingredients and freshly baked bread are crucial elements to success.
“Melted sandwiches possess the unique ability to be instantly recognisable and familiar in any market and we see immense potential to grow through franchising. It’s a strong investment opportunity for entrepreneurs excited about being part of a franchise concept’s early growth story. This is just the beginning.”
The business is targeting experienced operators who have existing scale in their business.
“We're looking for multi-unit franchisees with strong restaurant and hospitality experience and a shared dedication to operational excellence who have a strong knowledge of their market. The ideal partner is a proven leader in the restaurant industry,” says Rubin.
“Keeping the integrity of the Melt Shop brand is very important to us. We will have dedicated operators overseeing the day-to-day of our international locations. An intense and all-encompassing training program will also ensure that no steps are overlooked or missed.
“We strongly believe in compliance and it's important that we find partners that are dedicated and passionate about the Melt Shop brand. All locations will follow the same processes and quality standards and we'll do everything to make sure it's consistent across every location.”
PHYSIO INQ
Wellbeing is a strong trend in business, and one firm adopting a franchise focus taps right into the goodfeel ethos.
As the name suggests Physio Inq delivers physiotherapy treatments, in clinics and as a mobile service, but there’s much more to the business...Pilates, acupuncture, massages, exercise physiology, occupational therapy and podiatry.
The business is an accredited Workers Compensation, NDIS and aged care physio provider. Physiotherapists can offer a variety of therapeutic services for conditions including cerebral palsy, motor neurone disease and spinal disorders.
The Sydney-based network of allied health practitioners and admin staff, deliver these services to more than 5000 people
We’re attracted to franchising because we’re working with other people who can bring
their own experiences.
each month.
It began as a family business set up by Jonathan and Irene Moody. In five years one clinic had turned into five, and now there are 10 locations cross the city.
Professional and memorable high quality health care is the driving force of the business which is structured and based around a set of principles, with physiotherapist and employee mentoring, and student training programs.
Now there’s the opportunity for qualified practitioners to buy into this business, investing upwards of $200,000.