Franchise Focus


Granite grows


Market expansion ahead for Granite Transformations INVESTMENT LEVEL: FROM £18,000


month’ target for new franchisee recruitment, the replacement worktop brand is currently enjoying substantial business growth. These are pretty substantial franchises too, each covering an exclusive sales territory of around 100,000 households, so the commitment by franchise owners is serious and the scope for profitable returns on a combined sales, manufacturing and installation business is comparatively high. So what is attracting entrepreneurs to the Granite Transformations franchise proposition, even though the general retail market is floundering? Chief operating officer, Danny Hanlon, is midway through a busy programme of attending franchise events, meeting with would-be recruits, signing up new franchisees and overseeing a showroom expansion strategy by established franchise owners – and so he has a good handle on the situation. “People definitely like the idea of getting access to a unique product, where there’s little or no direct market competition. It’s also a product they would buy themselves, because of the quality and finished look, and friends they talk to would buy it too,” says Danny. “It’s a bit of a cliché perhaps, but our franchisees really do say ‘it’s a product that sells itself’. Our garden-centre concession


W


ith the number of Granite Transformations retail sites likely to hit 50 by year end and the UK franchisor setting an ambitious ‘one-a-


site package has proved especially popular, because it’s a low-risk franchise option and provides an opportunity to generate instant cashflow.”


He continues: “Last year, we carried out customer analysis and found that 80 per cent of jobs came from within a 20-mile radius of a showroom, so existing franchise owners view garden-centre sites as an effective way of filling


“This business


intelligence, whether to make savings or reach new customers, is shared around the franchise community, to the profit of all”


in their existing territories, while new investors regard this format as an affordable start-point.” That’s not to suggest bricks-and-mortar


high-street premises are being overlooked. Core franchise owners are taking advantage of a ‘partners-for-profit’ financing scheme to obtain free territory upgrades in exchange for second, third or even fourth showrooms. A number of new franchisees are planning to start trading straightaway from professionally designed high-street premises because of the passing trade they will undoubtedly attract,


and existing kitchen and bathroom business owners are regarding an in-store Granite Transformations showroom franchise as a valuable extra revenue stream. “Although we offer the option of a retail-only franchise, without the worktop fabrication element, most are still looking to control the whole process by undertaking their own manufacturing,” says Danny. “The property market is quite attractive, so franchisees are being canny and taking on smaller industrial premises on a month-by-month lease for the fabrication side, with the prospect of bigger workshops as the business expands. “The fascinating thing about the franchise market is that all of our owners are entrepreneurs, looking to make a success of their own businesses and bringing their own individual ideas and schemes to the table. This business intelligence, whether it’s a way to make raw material savings, speed up installations or reach new customers, is shared around the GT franchise community, to the profit of all,” he concludes. This year’s expansion programme should see the Granite Transformations’ showrooms extending into Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, as well as increasing market penetration in Scotland and Southern England. Danny also pinpoints conurbations like Manchester, Liverpool and the West Midlands as ripe for further retail development, so hopes more would-be franchisees will step forward in those regions. With one established franchise owner expected to reach £2 million turnover this year, the potential returns for investors are clearly considerable. n


GRANITE TRANSFORMATIONS


WEBSITE: www.gtfranchise.co.uk EMAIL: franchiseleads@granitetransformations.co.uk PHONE: 01892 509 680 CLASSIFICATION: Home improvement


June 2012 | Businessfranchise.com | 67


Investment: £10k-£20k


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