‘We’re just getting started’: El Jannah’s Brett Houldin on Lebanese chain’s roadmap to become a national name
The ex-Craveable Brands boss shares details in how the revitalised brand is building a best-in-class franchisor approach.
For over two decades, El Jannah has built a considerable reputation as one of NSW’s dining destinations for charcoal chicken.
Now, the family business is confident its value proposition can help it scale up to be a household name and the next national premium chicken quick-serve restaurant franchise.
“We've got a strong belief that this brand could have more than 200 stores in this country. In the next sort of three to five years, we'd like to get to 50,” chief executive Brett Houldin revealed to QSR Media in an interview.
Houldin, who served as CEO for Craveable Brands for nearly three years, was initially tapped by El Jannah’s founders to map out the chain’s five-year strategy to go national but was eventually convinced to be one of the chain’s partners.
Going beyond brand reputation
There was “strong” conviction around the quality of the product, but the plan warranted the brand undergo a major transformation.
Menus were “contemporised”, Houldin said, citing the addition of fried chicken to complement the charcoal chicken range. Uniforms and packaging got an update to bring out the “personality and tone” of the brand.
“We just professionalized the support structure of the network through different technologies, analytics, property and supply chain,” he added.
Significant investment, primarily, was on in-store design and customer experience. They also brought in a new training platform, new POS systems, digital menu boards and a revamped website.
“You'll see that [investment in design] coming through in the sort of stores that we will roll out,” he said.
Specifically, the brand is opening ten stores this year, with a couple of stores in Melbourne slated to open its doors in the first six months. Other cities eyed are in Newcastle, Wollongong and Canberra.
“We've spent the last 12 months really building out the right documentation, training, and marketing approaches to bring the best franchisees,” he said.
Houldin envisions half of the chain’s annual openings to have a drive-thru component, citing it as one of the store formats they are focusing on along with standalone locations and strip locations. Food courts will not be on the table.
Customer-focused tech
El Jannah is also approaching technology in 12-month horizons, Houldin said, citing rapid changes in the space.
“It's going to be really focused on the customer,” he stressed, adding it will drive them to improve their online ordering system, and potentially develop an app that has loyalty, catering, and table service features.
“We'll be doing a little bit more enhancement around operations and making sure that our stores can run as efficiently as possible,” he added. It's an exciting time for the brand and [it] feels like we're just getting started.”
