Bakers Delight a well known bakery franchise in Australia has been predicting an increase in the number of new franchises in 2012.
The mood across the Australia retail franchise industry reflects the volume of enquiries from potential franchisees has decreased, according to the most recent PwC Franchise Sector Indicator Report. Enquiries have fallen from an average of 40 per month in 2009 to 30 in 2011.
In the last year Bakers Delight has put in place 35 new franchises, surpassing the numbers established in previous years. Co-found and CEO of Bakers Delight Lesley Gillespie said, “Our product is staple that continues to stack up despite retail pressures.”
Bakers Delight believes their success will continues to drive growth in the retail market that has been impacted by low consumer confidence.
Bakers Delight predicts strong financial performance for Financial Year 2012, expecting to reach a global sales turnover of $587m. As a result the business is continuing to expand its franchise operations, seeking 100 new franchisees in Australia and New Zealand and 50 in Canada for FY12.
“Consumer demand for fresh bread and a unique service offering has fuelled our longevity and continued growth, with 31 years of experience and 700+ bakeries,” said Ms Gillespie.
“In FY11 we took on 50 per cent more franchisees than in previous years – in FY12 we’ve already exceeded expectations.”
