WFDF holding women’s forum
The Women’s Franchise & Development Forum will hold a workshop for women on how to get the knowledge it takes to succeed as a franchisee during the Franchise Expo South in Miami Beach on January 12.
The panel for the workshop will include several women leaders in franchising, including Kim Ellis, president of Bison Advertising, Joyce Mazero, founder of the WFDF and practice leader for Haynes & Boone’s Franchise & Development Group, Deb Foley of Plaza Financial, Therese Thilgen of Franchise Update Media Group, Ellen Hui of Popeyes Chicken, Lyn Devorkin of People & Profit Consulting and Donna Wade, a multi-unit franchisee.
The workshop will include sessions on defining the skills necessary for success, finding the right franchise and information on finding start-up cash. Several franchisors will also make presentations. For more information, visit: www.franchiseexposouth.com/wfdf.cfm.
Goronkin leaves Famous Dave’s
Dave Goronkin resigned last month as chief executive officer of the Minneapolis-based, barbecue chain, Famous Dave’s of America and signed on for a similar position at another restaurant chain, Redstone American Grill Inc.
Goronkin took over as CEO in 2003 and was widely given credit for expanding the chain and improving the company’s outlook—it has 155 stores currently, with 163 under development. The chain had 87 units when he took over. Most of the units are franchises.
Those franchises have been taking a hit, too. Same-store sales, a key measure of company performance, fell 3.5 percent in the third quarter, even while sales at company-owned stores have increased. The company’s stock price, once at more than $23 a share, fell to around $13 a share.
Goronkin, 44, takes over a small upscale grill chain with four units, two in suburban Minneapolis, one in suburban Chicago and another in New Jersey.
Roark buys Batteries Plus
Executives at Batteries Plus hope their new owners provide their company with the jolt it needs to speed growth.
The 307-unit, Wisconsin-based battery retailer is the latest franchise to join the fold of Roark Capital, an Atlanta-based private equity group that is increasingly making a name for itself in the franchising world. Roark finalized a purchase of Batteries Plus in November. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
"It’s a company we’ve been getting to know, and have been watching," said Neal Aronson, Roark’s managing partner. "It has all the elements of what we’re looking for." He said that Batteries Plus is a growing, profitable company with happy franchisees and customers.
The deal was done in part because the shareholders at Batteries Plus, which opened its first store in 1988, had been aging. Some, in their 80s, had started working on estate planning. "When I joined the business, they pledged to reinvest money back into the business," said chief executive Russ Reynolds. "They’re now getting to the age where to keep asking that they do that for another five to seven years is asking too much."
Reynolds, with the rest of the management team, invested in the company as part of the Roark buyout. Current executives will remain with the company. When asked whether customers or franchisees will notice a difference, Aronson said "hopefully, you won’t care," because any change—if any—will be minimal.
Since its founding in 2001, Roark has invested in 13 franchise companies. In August, it purchased through Focus Brands the Atlanta-based Mexican chain Moe’s Southwest Grill. It has also invested in Schlotzsky’s, McAlister’s Deli, Cinnabon and Carvel. Other franchises include Money Mailer and the retail sign company Fastsigns.
NexCen buys The Shoe Box
NexCen Brands has made another acquisition. The owner of such brands as Marble Slab Creamery, The Athlete’s Foot and Pretzel Time purchased The Shoe Box, Inc., a multi-brand luxury shoe retailer based in New York.
The deal was done in a partnership with the Camuto Group, a women’s fashion footwear company. The two plan on franchising the Shoe Box.
In addition, NexCen and Camuto entered into a 30-year licensing agreement to develop women’s footwear for NexCen’s luxury brand, Bill Blass. Camuto will design, manufacture and distribute the luxury footwear for NexCen.
NexCen plans to franchise The Shoe Box, and Bob D’Loren, NexCen’s CEO, said the nine-store chain has strong economics and would make a solid franchise in the coming years.
D’Loren also noted that the dual deals will give his company and Camuto control over the luxury shoe process from manufacturing to retail.
"It’s a big deal, strategically," he said.
