Evaluating franchisor support when looking at a business for sale

When looking at franchise opportunities, prospective franchisees will need to weigh up many facets of the business for sale. Among these is the type and quality of support that the franchisor offers – something that is crucial for incoming franchisees, and indeed even for seasoned operators. CEO Steve Plarre, of Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses, talks about what makes his brand stand out in terms of the support it provides to its franchisees and offers some advice for prospective franchisees in how they can gauge if a franchise brand provides quality support. Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses has been operating for over a century, and has over 70 locations across Victoria, Australia.

One of the biggest advantages of franchising, compared to another type of business for sale, is support; whether you have a question on local area marketing, or want some guidance managing staff, a good franchise system will be able to lend their head office expertise so that franchisees can run their business successfully. Here at Ferguson Plarre, our business support managers provide front line support for all our franchisees. Each of our business support managers have run or worked in businesses managing retail outlets similar to our own, and so have firsthand experience in what our franchisees face every day. This allows the business support team to effectively identify areas that can be improved, ultimately providing opportunities for franchisees to maximise sales and profitability.

When looking at a franchise business for sale, interrogate and find out whether the franchisor indeed has the support that they talk about. Who would be your business support person, and have they walked in your shoes? Have they run or worked in a business similar to the one you are looking at? Asking these questions will help you understand whether the franchisor understands the everyday pains and gains that franchisees go through. It can also be helpful to see if there are structures in place where you can learn from the collected experiences of other franchisees, particularly if you are looking at a business for sale in a fast-paced industry like ours which requires a fast and agile way to disseminate learnings.

Underpinned by our strong business support team, Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses has expanded beyond our core historical audience in the North West of Victoria to multiple locations across the state, with a view to expand to another 30 or 40 locations in Victoria in both regional and metropolitan areas.  We pride ourselves on the inclusive team culture we have built and the strong support it provides to existing and new franchisees and I encourage all prospective franchisees, whether they are looking at Ferguson Plarre or another franchise business for sale in Victoria or nationally, to make sure that they will be able to receive the support they need to be successful business owners.

Steve Plarre is the CEO of Ferguson Plarre Bakehouses.