What you need to know about the new Mrs Fields
Cookie chain branching out into cafes.
Mrs Fields has announced a major role out of its Mrs Fields Bakery Cafes. The cafes, which first opened in August 2012, were a response to customers telling the chain that “our stores were too sterile and cold. To them they certainly did not fit the comforting home style baked cookies associated with Mrs. Fields” according to Chief Cookie and CEO, Andrew Benefield.
The new look cafes have been a success and the group is keen to role out the new concept across their other stores. As Benefield goes on to explain “like anything new we have learnt along the way and made plenty of changes, but with the four original trial stores all showing double digit sales growth in the first half of this financial year, we are now ready to fully roll out the new concept”.
By the end of the year, Mrs Fields hopes to have 38 locations, over half of which conform to the new look. Andrew Benefield, CEO gives us the low down:
QSR Media: Which stores were chosen for the re-branding and why?
Benefield: The initial stores were chosen as they have good long term franchisees who were willing to work with us on the new concept, and needed to conduct a refurbishment as part of a lease renewal. The initial stores were at Carlingford in Sydney, Highpoint and Frankston in Victoria and Pacific Fair, Queensland. There are now several more stores, including new stores at Spencer street in Victoria and Joondalup in Perth
QSR Media: Will all stores eventually conform to the new format?
Benefield: Yes as they are required to as part of the lease renewal
QSR Media: What customer feedback have you been getting on the new format?
Benefield: Very positive, they feel it is more in keeping with the image of Mrs. Fields, a place where you can get quality baked goods and treats
QSR Media: You mentioned having to tweak the format along the way- what changes have you made?
Benefield: We have changed some of the display cabinets, made more room for chilled items and added heated cabinets for our Aussie Biscuits. We have also worked hard to reduce the cost of the building materials used without sacrificing the overall look and feel.
QSR Media: Will this approach be adopted by Mrs Fields’ internationally, or is it just for Australia?
Benefield: Currently it is just Australia, but they have been following our success closely and the CEO, Mr Neal Courtney and several other members of the management team are coming to Australia at the end of the month to see for themselves.
QSR Media: What is proving to be especially popular with the new outlets? What menu items are selling better than expected?
Benefield: The revised presentation of the famous Mrs. Fields soft baked cookies attracts the most attention. We have gone from placing them on plastic trays in a cabinet to putting them on wire racks in a bakery shelf, so they are fresh from the oven. Other products proving popular are our new crunchy Aussie Biscuit range which customers can take home in barrels of 50, and a signature range of colourful macrons.
