May 2, 2016
Last year, the company rolled out a new area rep agreement (ARA) to allow for rapid expansion, and this month it’s launching a proof-of-concept at the Lee’s Summit’s Summit Technology Campus. It’s all aimed at growing the Goodcents presence.
“We’re in eight states right now, so there’s 42 that we’d like to be in. In order to do that, we need to come in and make a splash,” Goodcents COO Scott Ford said.
Goodcents has more than 80 locations, including about 40 in the Kansas City market. The new ARA allows franchisees to buy an entire trade area, developing a minimum of 10 restaurants. The deal also gives an area rep 2 percent of the franchise royalty.
“It’s aggressive, and it’s something (founder Joseph Bisogno) wanted to do because he felt like it would help us — and I agree — in markets we have not developed in,” Ford said.
It would be difficult to launch in Dallas, for example, with just one unit, he said.
“We want to move in with a larger base, so we can secure our supply chain as well as get the brand name out there in an area that’s not familiar with us,” he said.
Goodcents currently to open 10 to 15 stores companywide in 2017, but that number could easily soar to 40 or 50 with the new ARA, he said.
The sub chain also will continue to grow in the Kansas City market and plans to add locations in North Kansas City, Liberty, Lee’s Summit and Blue Springs.
“We’re nowhere near done in Kansas City,” Ford said.
Goodcents also predicts growth with its prototype in Lee’s Summit, which Ford describes as a “store in a store” concept. The Goodcents store will be located inside the cafeteria at the Summit Technology Campus, which has about 4,500 employees. In addition to driving up the average check at the cafeteria, Goodcents comes with another value-add: the ability to deliver campus wide.
The major players in the cafeteria operator space have 5,000 cafeterias nationwide, giving Goodcents an easy in for expansion.
“We really expect this to be a big win,” he said. “If this concept proves out like we expect it to, we hope for some rapid expansion.”
Despite an increasingly competitive market, Goodcents continues to see growth. During the past 18 months, the company had positive comparative sales growth, and recent months have netted double-digit growth in comparative sales to prior years, he said. In 2015, its average unit volume soared past half-a-million dollars.
“We’ve never had average unit volume across the system that high,” he said.
A combination of factors are driving the growth, including quality operators executing a solid plan and a team that keeps Goodcents innovative and top of mind with guests, he said.
“We’re poised for (rapid expansion),” Ford said. “We’ve got a strong team in place; we’ve got a strong brand. We feel like we’ve really nailed down what the brand is about and put all the infrastructure in place, and we’re ready to take off.”
Original Article Posted on Kansas City Business Journal:
Author:
Leslie Collins
Web Producer – Kansas City Business Journal