Muzz Buzz's outlook and OS expansion

Warren Reynolds, Executive Chairman, Muzz Buzz talks about plans for Australia and NZ.

QSR Media: Muzz Buzz - the name, how did this come about?

Warren: The “Muzz” part of the Muzz Buzz name came from the owner of the first store in Belmont WA, Craig Muzeroll. He sold the store many years ago to the present owners who decided to keep the name and who subsequently built the company and the Muzz Buzz brand into what it is today.

The “Buzz” part of the name is an obvious reference to the buzz you get first thing in the morning from a delicious hot cup of coffee.

Muzz Buzz has grown to become a national consumer and retail brand that has become synonymous with drive thru coffee and become one of Australia’s best known lifestyle brands.

QSR Media: Tell us a bit about your NZ expansion strategy?

Warren: New Zealand is the first international territory for Muzz Buzz to establish and open stores under a Master Franchise arrangement; however we’ve had a number of international master franchise agreements in place for several years covering Eastern Europe, the Middle East, South Africa and parts of South East Asia.

The Master Franchisees in New Zealand is David and Vanessa Abetz. They have owned and operated multiple Muzz Buzz stores in Perth over many years, and are fully immersed in the Company’s brand values and know how to successfully own and operate multiple stores. Dave and Vanessa sold their stores in Perth last year and moved their young family to Auckland to become the effective owners and drivers of the Muzz Buzz brand and business in New Zealand.

The first two stores have already opened in Auckland, and Dave and Vanessa aim to open more Muzz Buzz stores across the north and south islands of New Zealand in the coming years.

QSR Media: What kind of logistics challenges does your "drive through" proposition raise?

Warren: The most obvious challenge is storage space for perishable food items, as the stores themselves are relatively compact and designed to have a small footprint to fit into many confined locations. Limited food storage facilities means we need to provide a regular delivery service to each store to keep them well stocked with perishable food and beverage items.

In Perth, where we have critical mass and the volume of stores to support a dedicated warehouse and logistics centre, we operate our own logistics and supply service with branded Muzz Buzz delivery vehicles. In other markets, we engage contractors to provide this service.

QSR Media: Who are you targeting for Franchise partners?

Warren: New Muzz Buzz franchisees come from all walks of life, but we seem to get our best success from people who have enjoyed success in corporate careers and who are seeking a new challenge that provides them with financial freedom and the flexibility to fit their Muzz Buzz commitments in with their family. Our franchisees have the option of running their own stores or employing managers to run them on their behalf, so we have a flexible business model that appeals to different people.

In New Zealand, as in Australia, we are seeking to attract self-motivated franchisees that have a fun outlook on life and don’t take themselves too seriously.

Muzz Buzz is a lifestyle brand that is all about fun and entertainment as much as it is about food and coffee. We like people who like people, and who want to make their customers’ day happier.

QSR Media: Tell us a bit about the "mobile side of your business" (ie trailers)

Warren: Our iconic Muzz Buzz store format enables us to look at a variety of different value-added business propositions that have the potential to diversify our income base and create an additional earnings base for our franchisees. We have launched a branded Muzz Buzz trailer business in Perth, and while it remains a pilot program at this stage, we feel it has potential to develop further.

We are also looking at a number of other innovative new retail service concepts that we could introduce to our stores that will significantly boost our earnings potential and create additional appeal for new franchisees and investors in our business.

Muzz Buzz’s innovative and aggressive approach to marketing our unique brand and drive thru retail concept has certainly attracted the attention of major commercial retail property companies who are keen to attract exciting and viable brands to their precincts.

We have been approached by several such companies and hope to be able to make a major announcement on a strategic partnership at same time later this year.