Big Cookie gives Mrs. Fields Australia a big tick of approval
Impressed with innovation and store design.
Neal Courtney, global CEO of Famous Brands International (owners Mrs. Fields and TCBY (Frozen Yogurt) brands globally), recently visited Australia and was impressed with the local Australian Mrs. Fields on their innovation and store design.
“Australia is one of our oldest international markets with the first of our Mrs. Fields stores opening here over 25 years ago,” commented Courtney, “but it still leads the way for us in innovation and store design. This is one of the most competitive retail environments and for our new Mrs. Fields Bakery Cafe’s to be showing double digit sales growth is a credit to our local licencee."
Mrs. Fields in Australia is locally owned and operated by Managing Director, Andrew Benefield, who previously worked with some major US based brands such as KFC, Pizza Hut and Caltex (Chevron Texaco).
The competitive nature of the Australian market is what also lead to the local development of the Mrs. Fields Bakery Cafe, now offering an expanded range of baked treats and savouries in addition to coffee. The new look stores are reported to be doing very well with another four confirmed to open later this year, to bring the total to at least 36 by year end.
"Take coffee buying habits for example, in the US the shopping malls do not open until after 10am, and by then most centre employees and customers have already stopped for coffee on the way to work. Hence coffee will never be as significant in a US Shopping Centre business unlike Australia, where it is an important part of the local Mrs. Fields business with most malls open at 8:30am," the brand noted.
