How current partners expand in spite of the pandemic
With a concrete strategy now in progress that’s boosting the company’s performance towards reaching its year-end goals, The Figaro Coffee Group (FCG) is definitely seeing more and more existing partners coming back to franchise yet again.
One of which is in the region of Western Visayas wherein Clover Arangote has franchised and opened two Angel’s Pizza stores in Iloilo and another one is currently in the works of a planned launch in April this year in Bacolod.
When Arangote was asked why he kept expanding with FCG, he shares that “as a conservative type of franchisee, I made sure to invest in a product or company that I believe in and I know that there is a proven sales success record to also recoup investments at the right time.”
“At the very start, we had high confidence that Angel’s Pizza will be loved by the Ilonggos considering the high quality of the products and its value for money,” he adds. But apart from that, he noticed that there’s also a fast-growing market for pizza since the onset of the pandemic considering people became fond of ordering online or through third party delivery services.
Intentional guidance provides business stability
While Clover Arangote may be a businessman at heart with a couple of businesses that have already succeeded in the past, he admits that it’s really easier to franchise especially with the assurance of Angel’s Pizza’s strong brand recognition, its built-in customer base and a well-established business model.
“FCG puts high importance in open communication especially to their franchisees. From the start, they have provided continuous guidance and support which gave us an assurance that we’ve made the right decision in choosing them,” Arangote notes. “They have assisted us in all aspects of establishing a store—from hiring and training of staff, setting up and planning of the store, advertising and marketing of its product and services, sourcing of local supplies, and a lot more up until today.”
So, when the pandemic struck, while their stores have been no stranger to the effects of it, FCG kept strong communications with them and supported them. “I think the year 2020 was by far, the most challenging year,” the franchisee recounts.
However, even if they have had opportunity costs because of the situation, their Angel’s Pizza franchises continued to operate during those times with all their employees working on full schedule and still be able to provide for their respective families.
In addition, he says that his store “supported our other businesses to continue to operate without cutting out any employees. So more than the profit, this was the best thing that happened to us.” Today, Arangote is already looking forward to open more outlets in the near future with so much excitement for the launch of his newest Angel’s Pizza branch in Bacolod soon.