Many people think that our Timpson branches are franchised but they are all company owned. I tried franchising early in the 1990s and found that good franchisees did well but soon wanted a bigger job.
However, poor franchisees struggled to break even so we had to bail them out. I quickly discovered that I am more comfortable running our business my way – and I suspect Daniel Ox will feel the same. Franchising is a different method of making money and requires a different approach to motivating people.
Moving a marketing concept out of London can bring some unpleasant surprises especially if you are currently serving the City.
Manchester, Bristol and Newcastle have a lot less offices and many fewer fat cats on big city bonuses – the culture is completely different. Moving to an untested market with an unfamiliar franchise format is far too risky, and I don’t think Fruit for the Office needs to take a gamble. More.