Baskin-Robbins to expand in 5 states, aims to open 20 locations before year ends
The chain challenges itself in order to evolve into a better brand for its consumers.
Baskin-Robbins is focused on expanding the brand further into Western Australia and across New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia later in the year. "We are ambitious in our growth plans and expect to have 20 additional stores open by the end of the year," said Baskin-Robbins General Manager David Jordan.
This effort is aligned with the core goal of the ice cream chain, he noted, which is to continue to grow the brand throughout Australia to ensure that Baskin-Robbins is "Australia's favourite ice cream brand." The expansion is also part of the three year strategy the brand has finalised a few months back.
Since taking the role of General Manager, Jordan has held focus groups with Franchise Partners to discuss and identify opportunities that exist for the brand in the future. A lot of the strategies included in the three-year plan stems from these group discussions.
"It requires a significant focus and level of execution that will challenge each of us. Our goal is to exceed the expectations of our guests, Franchise Partners and key stakeholders alike. With our focus on being 'Australia’s favourite ice cream brand' everything we do will need to challenge our previous way of working."
IN THREE YEARS
Aside from its large expansion this year, Baskin-Robbins is focused on creating greater commercial opportunities for its Franchise Partners in the Supply Chain segment of the brand's business.
"We are part of a group which owns more than 700 Baskin-Robbins stores worldwide and are yet to leverage this to our advantage," Jordan noted. "The other critical area we are focusing on is our team member and Franchise Partner development."
The chain is about to launch several key initiatives in line with this development, which includes a series of webinars, focus groups and development seminars which Jordan believes will give Baskin-Robbins' partnership network added skills and knowledge to continue personal growth within the brand.
"We plan to work closely with our Franchise Partners and grow our partnership through mutual alignment of values, beliefs and strategies. It is this relationship that we believe will build us into the brand of choice for both consumers and potential franchisees."
Jordan also shared that the chain has strong plans in the IT sector before the year ends. "[We are looking forward] to making several key announcements later in the year that will shake up the QSR industry in this space."
PRIORITIZING CONSUMERS
An initiative about to launch in the coming weeks is "Project 31," an effort which is all about the Baskin-Robbins consumer, Jordan explained.
He described it as an exciting project created to enhance our guests' in-store experience. "It’s about creating those “magic moments”, which are different for everyone and replicating that experience throughout all of our 80 stores," he said.
"Project 31" is a guide for team members and franchise partners alike, challenging both parties to look at Baskin-Robbins business through a new lens.
It focuses on enhancing the guest experience in stores by delivering consistent merchandising, point of sale and overall aesthetic appearance regardless of the age or design of the store. "Project 31" allows the brand to walk in their consumers' shoes, through an entire store experience, seeing what they see and influencing the critical areas that affect their satisfaction and intention to return.
"Project 31" is an ongoing project that will be enhanced through additional modules as the project is initiated and new learnings are identified, it is a local project based on global best practises. "Our 'Project 31' is a critical program which is absolutely paramount for our team at present. Ensuring that our guests experience is memorable and consistent is critical to us," Jordan noted.
