The development and popularization of a recognizable corporate brand is almost the most important task for a novice businessman or an already established entrepreneur, considering the possibilities of a new business idea. But there is another way to make your business recognizable - using an existing brand that has been tested over the years. Franchising or franchising, literally, is the purchase of the rights to conduct business using its trademark from the owner of a popular and financially successful enterprise . The benefits of such a deal are hard to overestimate. Together with the brand, the buyer (franchisee) receives a proven development strategy, a recognizable business image, and, if we are talking about a catering establishment, then company recipes.
The leader and the fastest payback franchise is universally recognized as the restaurant business. Most of the "giants" of public catering willingly trade in franchises, of course, subject to strict adherence to all conditions of the license agreement.
However, those who plan such cooperation with the famous American company Starbucks in Russia may encounter certain difficulties. What is the reason and how can you become a franchisee of a legendary brand?
About company
One of the most successful brands in America, the Starbucks coffee shop chain, in popularity at home and around the world, is not inferior to McDonald's restaurants. The cozy "home" atmosphere of the establishments, the high quality of the products offered, the cordial attitude towards any client and a varied menu are the qualities that make Starbucks coffee shops in great demand. You can often meet famous personalities among Starbucks visitors, and the main invention of the company - a company cup for a hot drink, has already become an attribute of many Hollywood films and TV shows.
Brand history: from a small store to the symbol of America
The history of the legendary coffee shop chain began in 1971 with a store that three young Americans opened in Seattle. At the same time, entrepreneurs came up with a logo that is now known throughout the world - a stylized mermaid or a siren on a green background.
The outlet, specializing in the sale of coffee beans and special coffee equipment, was not at first popular with local residents. Everything changed when the store manager Howard Schulz appeared - a businessman who made Starbucks what it is today. It was he who proposed a new concept for Starbucks - selling coffee in cups, for the first time in the United States. Also later, already being the new owner of the Starbucks network, Schulz came up with the idea of standardizing all establishments.
Starbucks still adheres to such a policy. In the institutions under this logo, the interior and the cozy atmosphere of the first coffee house are always recreated, the same music plays, Wi-Fi is free, the staff is polite and very friendly, and all drinks and food are of consistently high quality. This also applies to any coffee shop where the Starbucks franchise operates, regardless of the country where the establishment is located.
What, besides coffee, can be bought at the Starbucks coffee shop
Restaurants with a green Starbucks logo offer visitors not only a glass of first-class coffee. The coffee shop menu has a large selection of teas and a wide range of desserts, hot and cold snacks. The "standard set" of the American menu includes sandwiches, muffins, pastries, cheesecake, cookies, soft drinks. Foreign Starbucks coffee houses, the franchise of which is provided by an American company, supplement this list with local dishes of the country where the institution is located.
A separate income item is coffee shop souvenir products. With the Starbucks logo you can buy the main invention of this company - a plastic ring for a mug with a hot drink, as well as various trinkets: badges, mugs, caps and much more.
Starbucks Franchising Outside the US
We’ll make a reservation right away: Starbucks is one of those companies that claim that they do not sell franchises, information on this is even on the official website of the coffee shop chain. Nevertheless, of all Starbucks establishments operating in more than 60 countries of the world, about 60% are not directly owned by the American company, but operate under the “license agreement”, under which they gain the right to use the trademark and technology.
In Europe, as in the company’s homeland, the Starbucks coffee house franchise is, in principle, not available to anyone. The expansion of the network here occurs solely due to the acquisition by the main office of the existing small chain restaurants and cafes.
Why is cooperation with Starbucks beneficial?
Despite the fact that achieving Starbucks franchising is an incredibly difficult task, there are still many applicants for cooperation with the company. First of all, this is due to the high attractiveness of the brand for visitors, the quick payback on all investments and the excellent reputation of the coffee shop chain. In addition to the opportunity to open a coffee shop under the famous Starbucks brand, the franchise of this company gives its partners a number of advantages:
branded recipes for drinks, hot and cold snacks and desserts;
access to the extensive Starbucks network;
the opportunity, in agreement with the company, to complement the traditional menu with dishes of national cuisine;
support and recommendations in staff training;
recommendations on the interior design of the institution, in accordance with generally accepted standards;
advice on creating a cozy atmosphere inherent in all Starbucks establishments: music, service, work with visitors, and more.
Starbucks Coffee Shops in Russia
The first Starbucks franchise appeared in Russia relatively recently, in 2007. For a long time, the Russian capital remained the only city where you could visit a coffee shop operating under a network license. And to this day, to conclude a license agreement to work in Russia is much more difficult than in many other countries. The Starbucks company itself does not hide the reason for this cautious and even biased attitude towards Russian business - the appearance of this brand in our country was preceded by a high-profile litigation of an American company with a Russian company that simply appropriated the trademark of the coffee house in 2004.
The main difficulty is that the general procedure for how to get the Starbucks franchise in Russia, as well as the single price, still does not exist. Each application is considered individually, negotiations on the amount of the transaction are conducted directly with the applicant.
To become a franchisee, an applicant from Russia will have to contact the company’s representatives directly, leave a request in coherent English on the Starbucks official website. In the application, in addition to the willingness to cooperate and strictly abide by all the requirements of the license, you should indicate your data, contacts, the name of your company (if any), describe your achievements in the business and financial opportunities at the moment.
Starbucks Collaboration Requirements
A chain of coffee houses value their own business reputation. High demands are placed on both our own coffee houses and the institutions to which Starbucks franchise. The conditions that the company puts forward to all franchisees without exception may seem to some to be practically impossible. So, you can get a franchise by following these conditions:
The applicant must own a suitable room: at least 60 square meters. meters, a busy area of the big city, the entrance doors are located on the south or east side. Here, preference is given to premises located in socially significant objects - the station, airport, universities, hospitals and more.
The presence of a substantial amount of free financial resources.
The chances of cooperation will increase significantly, provided that the applicant already has entrepreneurial experience. For example, own successfully developing business.
First of all, applications from well-known and successful people are considered.
But even if the franchise is approved and the company begins to function, the company exercises strict and constant control over the fulfillment of conditions, the quality of products and services provided. In case of non-compliance with all standards of the coffee shop, the Starbucks franchise may well be revoked.
How much does the Starbucks coffee shop franchise cost
Another feature of cooperation with this network of coffee houses is that the Starbucks franchise requires a fairly substantial investment. According to experts, the arrangement and design of one square meter of a coffee house will cost from 2 thousand dollars. The “lion's share” of the high price, of course, goes to the purchase of the necessary equipment and the interior of the establishment. The same amount also includes the cost of acquiring products, which, as you know, must be of appropriate high quality.
Thus, if you calculate the initial capital that will have to be invested in the organization and arrangement of the coffee shop, without taking into account the cost of the premises, we can say that the Starbucks franchise in Russia will cost from about 150 to 180 thousand dollars.
How profitable is this investment? Based on the experience of Starbucks coffee shops operating in the capital and in St. Petersburg, we can conclude that all costs are fully paid off within a modest period by the standards of a business — approximately two years of operation.