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The Finn Review - Issue 10

Interview with Bakers Delight founders Roger & Lesley Gillespie

Bakers Delight is arguably the best franchise system in Australia. It has grown to over 700 stores across Australia and New Zealand, and around 15 stores in Canada under the Cobs Breads brand.

The Gillespies are a team. Down to earth, generous with their time and knowledge, and inspiring. They've built the Australian benchmark in retail franchising - and in their eyes, they're just getting started! They were kind enough to chat with me recently over a coffee.

SF: Hi Roger and Lesley - you've experienced so much in franchising over the past 25 years - would you mind sharing some tips with us?
RG: Sure that's fine. Happy to help.

SF: It seems you've achieved it all. You've made it. What do you think about that?
LG: No way! We're just getting started! The actual bakery numbers that we can put on the ground in Australia isn't going to double or treble but there's certainly a huge amount of growth opportunity in sales from the sites we already have. That's the challenge. When we've got fresh, hungry, engaged people operating the businesses - we see 30%-40% growth in like sales for these guys.
RG: We've got to keep rejuvinating our franchisees. There's stories of bakeries that were making 200 grand a year and the owner gets realigned and refounded and all of a sudden they're making 300 grand a year! These are the stories we've got to continue to promote to our franchisees because with 700-odd stores some of our franchisees aren't asleep yet but they're starting to yawn!

SF: How do you respond to poor-performing franchisees?
LG: They idea is to respond before they start to perform poorly. Move quickly and say "If you're a square peg in a round hole or you've been working 80 hours a week for the past year..." - whatever the issue is, see it coming and say "What plan of action are we going to take to fix this? Do you just need a holiday or should we put your bakery on the market and get it sold now while the figures are still strong?" Sometimes just having that conversation is enough to get people back on track. Solve the issue otherwise they will go negative. We've learnt to act quickly.
RG: Move them up or move them out.

SF: What have you learnt about keeping your franchise owners 'fresh' and 'motivated'?
LG: The time comes when franchisees have had a great experience with Bakers Delight. They've done very well, and they've recognised that they want to do something different. Sometimes it's just time for a change.

SF: Along the way, what experiences have you had with franchisee recruitment?
LG: It's one of the hardest and most important tasks in our business. You can never get it right.
RG: The challenge is also getting the balance right between younger and more mature franchisees.

SF: What have you learnt about marketing your franchise opportunity to the marketplace?
LG: We need to learn more! We are speaking to our advertising agency to help us apply the same principles that encourage people to buy our bread, that can encourage people to want to apply for a franchise.

SF: Can you share with us your thoughts on leadership?
LG: Solve problems as they arise. Have a clear vision of where you want to go. Believe in your brand. Make the tough decisions when you have to.

SF: How can franchisors work both in and on their business?
RG: You won't want to let go - but if you want to grow you just have to. Make sure you've got the right people and have the right reporting and measurement systems in place to make sure they're doing it properly.
LG: Don't think we've got it licked - we're still learning!

SF: What are your thoughts on franchisee support staff?
RG: Empower them to spot the under-performers and look them in the eye and say "Sorry - you're not performing. Either lift your game or we'll have to review your future with us." Getting your business consultants or support staff to that point can be a challenge. We've gone through the phases of them being policemen, then being friends of franchisees etc. Their role basically is to make sure every bakery achieves it's potential. That get's confused with bread quality, operational checks, OH&S etc - but that's not the main game - it's no point having everything perfect if you've got no customers!
LG: We're not just talking about our business consultants - there's your marketing people, admin, IT, finance, building projects, and HR. The key is to make sure you get the best - and be prepared to pay for them.
RG: If you've got a growing company get the people ahead of when you need them.

SF: What guiding principles have brought you to where you are today?
RG: The single biggest influence on our success has been that we've strictly adhered to the 'win-win' philosphy.
LG: Absolutely.
RG: Suppliers, franchisees. Landlords are difficult but we try.

SF: What's your challenge now?
RG LG: (Almost in unison) To get every bakery baking perfect bread everyday.
LG: To get it right. To have people lined up at the door in every region to buy a franchise - and we're far from that.
RG: Our challenge is to continue to bake better bread and bring in better people.