Donuts holed up as success story

Janette Young | 2nd June 2009

LOOK for a hole in Joanne and Michael Gee's decision to take on a Donut King franchise and you will not find it.

Joanne Gee runs the franchises for Donut King at Sugarland Shoppingtown and Hinker Central and is proud to serve customers like Abbey Younger and Clancy Atkinson.

Bundaberg News Mail/Max Fleet

LOOK for a hole in Joanne and Michael Gee's decision to take on a Donut King franchise and you will not find it.

Five years and millions of donuts later, the couple have not one, but two franchises in Bundaberg - at Sugarland Shoppingtown and Hinkler Central - and love the work/life-style.

“I do all the paperwork,” said Mrs Gee, who has a background in administration. Her husband worked as an army chef - thus the decision to go for a food outlet - and in sales.

“Michael has a pretty outgoing personality,” she said.

Both man the outlets, liking to interact with customers as much as possible.

Franchising has been popular for many years in Australia, even more so than in nations such as the US.

It offers standardised quality, brand image, reputation and convenience - all of which can be attractive to people thinking of going out on their own, but unsure about how to do it.

Mr and Mrs Gee fell right into that category when they decided to take on a business.

“We had no experience whatsoever,” said Mrs Gee.

They did their homework, although they had already decided - due to Mr Gee's background - to go for food of some type.

In addition, they had already chosen the Bundaberg region as a lifestyle choice, and committed to a block of land, after Mr Gee spotted its potential while travelling in a sales job.

The couple felt - and continue to believe - the region is a good place for business because it has a strong future.

“Bundaberg is just growing so well,” said Mrs Gee.

From an investment of around $250,000, the pair now run 13 staff across the two outlets and produce more than 400,000 donuts a year.

In return for that investment, the couple got all their infrastructure and have been strongly supported by Donut King all the way through.

The franchise sits within the Retail Food Group (RFG), which also has the bb's cafe, Brumby's Bakery, Michel's Patisserie chains.

Mrs Gee said the strong branding and network of other brains to pick from was invaluable.

“They have a conference for franchisees every two years,” she said.

Donut King also runs a training academy and supplies ongoing and detailed instructions on how to dress not only the outlets but the donuts.

RFG sees franchising, which it applies to its other outlets and advertises via its website, as having “almost no limits” in terms of the business types to which it can be applied.

Typically, franchising involves the payment of an initial franchise fee and ongoing royalties, and in exchange the franchisee receives a licence from a franchisor to conduct business under a brand name for a specified period of time.

The industry is underpinned by an Australian franchising code of conduct.

The couple have no regrets and say that as Donut King grows so do they.

They have a few words of wisdom for others considering taking on a franchise.

“You can't do it as a part-time role and have staff while you're working away,” said Mrs Gee.

Interacting with the customers is also important, and both try to stay in the shopfront as much as possible.

“The customers keep coming back,” Mrs Gee said. Keeping on top of staffing issues and motivating team members is key, and Mrs Gee recommends some financial know-how for would-be franchisees.

RFG, which is listed on the Australian stock exchange, announced a fully franked interim dividend of 4.5c per share in April. It closed at $1.55 yesterday.