Souvlaki Hut top franchise

Date AddedJune 24, 2009 10:30:45 PM

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A Melbourne Greek restaurant chain with under 20 outlets is at the top of a survey measuring the satisfaction level of Australian franchisees, according to market research group, 10 Thousand Feet.
Souvlaki Hut, founded by Bill and John Fotiadis in 2004 in the Melbourne suburb of Hillside, was ranked number one in a survey of 900 franchisees from more than 50 franchise systems in Australia, outranking the larger Quest Serviced Apartments and Frontline Recruitment.
Franchisees ranked SouvlakiHut, which has 16 outlets, for their intention to renew franchises, the level of financial and social rewards, lifestyle, support and opportunities.
Ian Krawitz, Head of Intelligence at 10 Thousand Feet, said it was a surprise for a relatively small franchise system to come out on top.
''But when we examined Souvlaki Hut's success in more detail, it was clear that its focus on training and supporting its franchisees was the deciding factor,'' he said.
The survey ranked waterless car washing franchise Ecowash Mobile in 4th place, followed by Beaumont Tiles, Xpresso Delight, Mortgage Choice (which has more than 400 franchises) and ANZ Mortgage Solutions.
Franchisees ranked another smaller franchise group, Mrs Fields Gourmet Cookies, in 9th place. Mrs Fields has 17 franchises.
Worldwide Online Printing, a $65million group of 90 franchised print communication centres, came in 10th.
Other criteria used by franchisees included lifestyle, support, opportunities and the level of passion felt about the brand, product or service offered.
Notably, when it came to passion, a number of the top franchises ranked quite poorly.
Souvlaki Hut was given a score of eight out of 10, Worldwide Online Printing ranked 9th and Xpresso Delight scoring a 10, the lowest ranking.
ANZ mortgage Solutions, with 136 outlets, ranked highest for passion.
Mrs Fields franchisees were most likely to recommend the business to friends or colleagues - although they believed opportunities to expand were limited.
Franchisees of Xpresso Delight, which has 92 franchises, were least likely to recommend it.
The results come from 10 Thousand Feet's annual Franchisee Satisfaction Survey and are being used to launch a new website called topfranchise.com.au, underpinned by subscription fees paid by franchisors.