BEATING THE PANDEMIC

Franchisees who started up in a crisis.

When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. That’s been the approach of newbie franchisees starting up just when the pandemic hit. If you think about it every police car, ambulance, fire engine and emergency care worker’s car needs

batteries, not to mention every hospital bed has a battery so we were providing a

service.

Starting out in business is always a challenge. Being part of a franchise operation does deliver certain advantages over being an independent operator however, experience and support are there to back you up.

Essential service: Battery World

It was back in August 2019 that Matt Moore started looking for a business to complement his popular Hanks Car Wash at Tweed Heads, just on the New South Wales side of the border with Queensland.

He was already an experienced franchisee, with 10 years running a Telstra store behind him.

By the time he found a local Battery World store and was just signing off on the franchise deal, news of the coronavirus spread was hitting the headlines.

“I remember I was doing my training at the Ipswich Battery World store when we heard on the news on the radio and we all thought it was nothing, just a storm in a tea cup, some virus on the other side of the world,” he says.

“The contract went unconditional and I found myself taking ownership fat talk about bad timing. It went from no big deal to ‘holy crap’ within a matter of weeks.

“Like everyone in retail, the big concern was how it would impact on our business and would we have to put off staff we had just hired?”

Something did go their way though – their choice of business proved to be a pandemic essential.

“If you think about it every police car, ambulance, fire engine and emergency care worker’s car needs batteries, not to mention every hospital bed has a battery so we were providing a service.

“Someone somewhere will need a battery solution at some point.”

As Matt got to grips with growing the Battery World business he faced other pandemic-specific challenges.

When the Sunshine State shut down its borders there was an added obstacle to keep everything going; the family is based in Queensland and the retail outlet and 24/7 roadside battery assist service operate in New South Wales.

However, the Moores got over the hurdles, and started to see improvements in business, despite the lockdown.

When signing up to the franchise the couple could see there was room to make simple changes to maximise revenue.

“The previous owner had suffered a few health issues, so had not been running the business at optimal performance.”

“By making some needed upgrades and improvements we have seen immediate benefits: already year on year for May we are up 30 per cent and month on month April to May we are up 100 per cent.”

Matt was attracted to the Battery World brand because of its vision, the continuing changes in technology and a business that could be somewhat insulated in troubled times.

The Moores really are putting the brand to the test.

Retail support: 7-Eleven

New 7-Eleven franchisee Yasir Iftihkar couldn’t have opened his Jerrabomberra store at a more challenging time.

Yet despite the difficulties of starting out as a new business owner in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, thanks to the support from 7-Eleven, everything has gone smoothly.

“With Covid-19 happening, the 7-Eleven team, in addition to the usual support for new franchisees, have installed Perspex screens at the counter, hand sanitizer units in-store for customers, and lots of social distancing signs so everyone can shop safely.

“I have about 10 new casual team members, mostly from the local Queanbeyan area, and my daughter also helps me in the store from time to time, so having those extra safeguards in place so quickly was very important for us to be able to serve our customers safely,” Yasir explains.

“The 7-Eleven team have been excellent, getting the store open on schedule and helping me get settled into the new store. That support has been ongoing from a range of areas from my retail business manager and regional manager, the retail specialists and even someone from training has come to help me review my training opportunities for my team,” he says.

While the store has started off well, Yasir points out getting to know the customers is taking longer than he expected.

“We are getting to meet the local community, but it is a bit slower to connect with people as they are spending more time at home. The team and I are excited to get to know everyone better as they start to get back into their routines in the weeks and months ahead.”

Already Yasir’s team is sharing ideas on how to deliver a first class customer experience.

“We’ve had fantastic feedback from locals on the service we’re providing and the cleanliness of the store. My team knows that making every experience exceptional for our customers, from the service to the temperature of the coffee, is incredibly important so we have all been focused on delivering that.”

Record sales: Pack & Send

New Pack & Send franchisees Nishat Mitu and Muhammed Rahman opened their new business in Chermside, Queensland right in the middle of the pandemic shutdown. And far from struggling the pair have outperformed expectations.

“We started trading on 11 May 2020. Initially we were thinking to delay the opening but decided to take the challenge as sending parcels nationally and internationally is vital due to the restrictions on travel,” Nishat says.

With new franchisees joining the network in the midst of Covid-19 the franchisor had to switch up its training processes. In the first week of opening franchisees would normally be accompanied by their field support manager for a week of onsite training.

But not this time. All the practical, onsite training had to be done virtually.

“From our first day of trading, we received virtual training from our field support manager, Ricky Vrahnos, since he was unable to travel interstate. It was challenging but he supported us in every possible way via video call, phone call and email,” Nishat says.

Nishat and Muhammed had started the research phase of their business quite a while before the pandemic.

“We were always looking to join a business supported by a proven business model. We chose Pack & Send for the brand reputation, solid structure, multi-channel business model and numerous lead sources to bring customers to the business," explains Nishat.

The pair had been involved in the retail fuel sector for 12 years and were searching for a similarly customer-focused business.

“From a business perspective Pack & Send’s business model stood out most for us," Nishat reveals.

"The business is not only customer focused but also designed to service the fastest growing market in today’s world of online shopping," she says.

And as a result of great training, strong retail experience, and a booming marketplace, Nishat and Muhammed have proved you can set up business in a pandemic.

The pair set a first month sales record for any Pack & Send franchisee in the brand's 26 year history.

Nishat says "I believe customer satisfaction is the most important aspect of our business. Being the first point of contact for the customer and being able to service them with their delivery needs on time during the current situation with Covid-19 helped us to achieve the record.”

The most rewarding part of the business so far has been receiving 5- star reviews and happy calls from their customers, the pair reveal. As Nishat says,“It’s the best part of the day!”

City Cave is the new face of wellness in Australia, tapping into the feelgood experience while adding the opportunity for some therapeutic treatment as well.

And while for most of us the sauna and steam room experience is a distant memory, because City Cave provides a solitary sauna experience, customers have been able to indulge in this popular heat treatment in line with Covid-19 hygiene guidelines. With infrared panels firing up the heat, it’s proved to be a sell-out with customers, says David Wilkinson, franchise support at City Cave.

“We got our centres open nice and quickly after lockdown. We were one of the first non-essential services to open. We didn’t know what to expect. Were people going to come back?”

The franchisor’s concerns were eased when a pre-sale campaign paid off. Just in the two days prior to reopening City Cave’s franchisees booked $400,000 in sales.

A large part of the business is the floatation pool, which didn’t fit into any existing health guidelines.

“We had to self-assess,” says David “and spoke with health departments. In a float pool there are 400kg of magnesium salts, so it’s hard for bacteria to grow. We use a chlorine-like chemical, so all that is ok.”

The usual hand sanitizing processes of course were integral to any hands-on therapeutic treatment.

“We talked a lot on social media about what we were doing because of course we were cleaning before it was cool. We’re doing all the hard work and so we have to tell our customers.”