A history lesson...
Robin and Billy Stenhouse, owners of fast-growing sandwich shop chain Baguette Express, realised after opening their seventh outlet that they had reached a critical mass and further growth would need a whole new business model.
Instead of running the shops themselves the brothers decided to go down the franchising route and soon found that the new approach suits their company perfectly.
The Stenhouses bought a five-outlet chain, attracted by its simple one-price-for-all-sandwiches approach and its concentration on small towns.
The way forward...
�We knew the concept was good,� says Robin, �and eventually came to the conclusion that franchising was the way forward. We talked to marketing experts who looked at our business and could immediately see the potential for franchising and advised us on how to proceed.�