October 16, 2003

By Samantha Enslin

Durban - Mugg & Bean will open its seventh store in KwaZulu-Natal and its 49th nationally when the Ballito franchise opens this weekend.

Mike Said, the marketing director for Mugg & Bean Franchising, said yesterday KwaZulu-Natal had had the fastest growth of new stores in the country. Year on year, on a same-store basis, turnover in the province had also been the highest.

KwaZulu-Natal contributes 15 percent to Mugg & Bean's annual turnover, which is estimated at R227 million. The quick-service restaurant franchise chain has opened six stores in the province since May 2001, taking advantage of new office, shopping and tourism developments in Umhlanga Ridge, La Lucia Ridge, Pietermaritzburg and on the south and north coast.

Said said the region had done an excellent job of reinventing the Kingdom of the Zulu and promoting the province as a tourist destination.

"KwaZulu-Natal has been one of our most successful regions, with patrons being more loyal to brands than elsewhere, where a concept can be in today and out tomorrow," Said said.

The company recently won the Franchise Association of Southern Africa's Brand Builder of the Year award.

Mugg & Bean was started in 1996 by Ben Filmalter at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town. Since then, franchise stores have opened nationally. The company's 50th store will open in Cresta next month.

"It's a fallacy that we are a coffee shop. We are a coffee-themed restaurant. Only 23 percent of our sales are from coffee. The bulk of sales is from food," Said explained.

On average, the company's 47 stores serve 700 000 customers a month. Including casual staff, the firm has generated between 2 500 and 3 000 jobs. At least 600 of these are in KwaZulu-Natal.

A 240m2 store will cost R1.4 million to kit out in the brand name, a bill which the franchisee will foot.

The franchisee also pays a joining fee of R75 000 and a monthly 6 percent of turnover as a franchise fee and 2 percent of turnover as a contribution to marketing.