Mapping Trade Areas For Expansion
If you are a franchisee in a good financial position right now - it might be the RIGHT time to do trade area research. The reason is that with many FF restaurants closing their doors - more and more good real estate is becoming available. But, before one can buy those available locations for your own brand - one must know your trade areas of your units so that you can estimate the potential `attrition’ or cannibalization to your existing units.
Indeed, many of my clients do exactly that - map EVERY store they have in a market and at the same time `ask’ customers to state what they might have done if a new unit was at such and such intersection. Indeed, it is not unusual to `map’ a market with multiple stores and ask about multiple possible new locations too.
Before you think this is cost prohibitive - last year I mapped 14 units in one market and asked about 11 prospective `new units’ within the same market. As you would expect, some of the `new units’ would impact stores greatly and others hardly at all - based on existing trade areas. AND, all 14 stores information - indeed, the whole project was under 30K. That’s right, 14 stores, under 30,000.00 — and with terms spreading the payment over an entire year.
Make sure to go to www.squidoo.com/tradeareasurveys for more info.
Today’s Restaurant Links
`Arby’s and Wendy’s Merger Completed’
http://www.ajc.com/business/content/business/stories/2008/09/29/arbys_wendys_merger.html
`Diners Turning To Grocers For Fast Food’
http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/092908/bus_337663841.shtml
`Organic Restaurant Looks To Expand’
http://www.londontopic.ca/article.php?artid=11024 If you are looking for something with upside potential - this might be it.
