Baguette express takes long view with franchise roll-out

The firm, which has two outlets in Edinburgh, as well as shops in Musselburgh, Dalkeith, Tranent, Galashiels and Hawick, plans to have its Portobello branch up and running by next month.

And, if the present rate of expansion is maintained, the chain will have grown to 20 sandwich bars by the end of 2007.

Baguette Express was established in 1999 before being acquired by East Lothian-based brothers Robin and Billy Stenhouse three years ago.

Earlier this year, the company said it would be taking a franchising approach to its future growth, and director Robin Stenhouse confirmed today that three franchisees had already signed up.

Baguette Express' Gorgie Road outlet has been bought by franchisee Margaret Watret, while Julie Malone has taken control of the shops in Musselburgh and Tranent.

The Portobello store, which will be sited on the seaside resort's High Street, will be operated by a third franchisee, Sylvia Cormack.

Mr Stenhouse said the early success of the franchising strategy meant the company was "well on target" to meet its goal of having another 12 outlets operational by the end of 2007.

Haddington-headquartered Baguette Express will focus its efforts on high street locations across Scotland, with the Falkirk and West Lothian areas falling under the spotlight in the near term.

"We also intend to expand through Airdrie and to the west and then northwards through Fife and beyond," noted Mr Stenhouse.

Ms Cormack, who is already talking about opening a second store, said owning a Baguette Express franchise was "exactly the kind of business opportunity" she had been looking for.

"I'd eaten in the shops and really liked them," she added. "It's a well-known brand so buying a store seemed like an ideal proposition."

Ms Malone, who took over the Tranent and Musselburgh operations on June 1, had been managing the Musselburgh shop for two years.

She said: "When I heard they were available for franchising I thought I'd go for it. I know the business well and they're busy wee shops."

Ms Watret, who previously worked for a healthcare company, said she had been thinking about opening a cafe.

"When I heard about Baguette Express it sounded exactly what I was wanting, and I decided to go for it," she said.

"The franchise route was very attractive because I knew I had the support of the company, and would be able to benefit from the experience they had with running the shops."

THE FACTS

Chain reaction: In the UK, the franchise industry is currently worth in excess of 10 billion a year. Almost 330,000 people work in it, and across Britain there are more than 31,000 franchisees who are already running their own businesses.

The Scottish franchise sector has an annual turnover of approximately 800 million.

Big hit: Organised by the British Franchise Association, Scottish Franchise Week took place at the start of this month.

Record numbers turned up to visit the British Franchise Exhibition, which was held at the SECC in Glasgow on June 2 and 3.