Case Study - Azeem Arshad
Master franchising allows people to buy the rights to sub-franchise within a certain territory. This allows the master franchisee the opportunity to grow a good business quickly. Franchisors also usually grow very rapidly.
But no one should underestimate the scale of the challenge. Instead of looking after the complexities of one franchise, a master franchisee could be responsible for scores or even hundreds.
We spoke to Azeem Arshad, at 23 one of the youngest master franchise holders in the country, about how he has dealt with owning the master franchise for the North of England for Baguette Express, one of the UK's fastest-growing sandwich chains, and asked him: What is a typical day in your life? This is his story.
"I live on the outskirts of Glasgow, so my day often involves travelling to Newcastle and other towns in the north of England. The car is the only practical way of getting to all the places we need to see but, thankfully, I am quite close to the M74 and I cross over on the A59.
"I leave at around 7.30 and it can be a bit of a scramble, but the one treat I always allow myself is a stop at the Carlisle services for a coffee.
"Once I arrive, the day will be mostly taken up with meetings, interviews and site visits, from about 10am to 4pm. We have a small office in Moseley Street and I make for there right away to see what the day has in store for me.
"We have three outlets successfully up and running now – in Sunderland, Byker and St Mary's Place in Newcastle – so a great deal of my time has to be allocated to the franchisees to see that they have no problems or issues they are having difficulty dealing with.
"But what is really at the forefront of my mind at the moment is the opening of my fourth outlet, which I plan to take on personally. It is just in such a fantastic location and fits perfectly with the Baguette Express business model of establishing in popular areas with a high footfall.
"The new store couldn't be better. It is in Eldon Square, a lovely new shopping centre which is just opening. It has key clients such as Debenhams, Arcadia, Apple iStore and Tesco – and guess where I am: yes, right next to Tesco.
"Of course it's a great opportunity, but there are also substantial challenges. The shopping centre landlords have very strict criteria for tenants and everything has to be approved by them before we can make a move.
"This is on top of the normal meetings we have on site for a store opening, including discussions about the fitting out with contractors, the workforce, building control officials, planning officials and health and safety people.
"Frequently, I have to have meetings and negotiations with suppliers. My existing supply chain in Scotland doesn't deliver here, so I am having to build a whole new network of people who will be able to meet Baguette Express's demanding standards.
"I will also have meetings with people who are interested in becoming franchisees. They are initially selected by the Baguette Express head office team, but I have the final say about who I put in place in my stores.
"As I said, I try to get through the main business of the day by about 4pm, but there is no point in leaving then and spending time in the rush hour. So I usually go to one of the many restaurants near the Mosley Street office for a relaxed early dinner and then leave for home when the traffic has calmed down a bit.
"I also sometimes steal a bit of time to do some shopping in the Metro Centre. It's getting on in years now, but it's still fantastic."
