Broadway Wine Company has its sights firmly set on growth and has partnered with Taylor Made Franchising to help achieve its goals.
“If you want to grow your business quickly then franchising is one of the best options,” says Doug Brown (pictured on the right), co-director of Broadway Wine.
“Our shop [based in Broadway, Worcestershire and established in 2009 by James Kemp, on the left] is a very small part of our business,” continues Brown.
“Our wholesale arm is the part that has shown rapid growth over the years and it is that part of the business we are franchising. Currently our brand is very localised, but there’s no reason why it can’t be operating in Leeds, Newcastle, Kent and Cornwall, for example.
“Franchisees will run their own business under The Broadway Wine Company banner. They’ll have a branded van and uniform and access to our wine range.
“Basically they will have all the tools necessary to run the same business we have in the Cotswolds in whatever location they happen to be based. If, at some stage, one of the franchisees wants to open a shop within their territory then we’ll help them with that as well, but it’s not the mainstay of the business.”
Brown says full training will be provided, so franchisees don’t need to have previous experience in the wine trade. “Above all they need to be a salesperson,” he says. “It’s a people business and a sales-driven business model.”
Kemp and Brown had been considering this option for some time, but hadn’t found the right partner until they were introduced to Darren Taylor (centre) through the Franchise Association.
“Taylor Made Franchising offers its expertise in how to start a franchise and recruit franchisees – that is what they are bringing to the party, and we have the wine knowledge and the business model,” says Brown.
Brown has identified a gap in the market, which he believes gives this uncharted territory considerable legs. “Smaller local convenience stores have never really offered or focused on a premium wine range,” he says.
“We’ve done some work with small, regional franchises of Spar, Londis and the Co-op and put a premium range in those stores, and that seems to be where our growth is coming from.”
Success, explains Brown, will be measured in the number of franchisees and turnover. These figures have been agreed upfront with Taylor Made Franchising. “If in two years’ time they don’t achieve the agreed set targets, then you can choose to simply part ways,” he says. “Hopefully that won’t be the case as the whole idea is to quickly build our business into a larger business.”
