Franchise kings and queens of Queensland revealed | List
They range from billionaires to mums and dads who have built up little retail empires. They are Queensland’s world success stories of franchising. FULL LIST
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They’ve been called a “business in a box’’. Franchises, from Poolwerx to Dominos, Battery World and more than a thousand others, are everywhere.
The few who started them often made millions, even billions.
Most of the individual store owners are much less well known but have thriving empires of four, five, six or a dozen or more stores.
It’s small business that is big business.
The Franchise Council of Australia said the $184 billion franchise business segment included 1344 networks and more than 98,000 individual franchised outlets employing more than 598,000 people.
There has been much negative publicity in recent times about alleged unfair conditions imposed on franchisors, and alleged widespread underpayment of franchise workers.
So much so that a Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services travelled the country, including Brisbane, in 2018 to take evidence.
The inquiry led to some key changes to improve the system including a registry of all franchises in Australia and the mandatory requirement to obtain legal and financial advice before entering a franchise agreement.
The inquiry attracted almost 100 submissions, many from franchisees who complained of alleged excessive franchisor fees, unfair supplier kickbacks and poor advice.
Covid has not helped, with half of Australia’s franchise stores recording a staggering fall in revenue during the pandemic.
Hardest hit were cafes, restaurants, gyms and child-related businesses, a Pulse Check survey found.
But supporters of franchising point out that almost 80 per cent of small franchisees survive their first five years, compared with 80 per cent of stand-alone businesses that fail.
And they say most franchisees are well treated, while franchisors often offer comprehensive education and support.
Most franchisees are also good employers who contribute greatly to their local communities.
We take a look at some of the success stories, big and small.
FIVE BIG FRANCHISES
Poolwerx – Qld-based pool cleaning franchise with 160 stores, well over 600 service vehicles, operates across Australia, NZ, US. It’s the world’s largest global franchise pool service brand.
Franchise cost: $50,000 to $100,000
Foodco – Owner of Muffin Break, Jamaica Blue, Dreamy Donuts.
Franchise cost: approx $250,000 to $500,000
Coffee Club – one of the sector pioneers, 400 stores worldwide.
Franchise cost: approx $450,000 to $700,000
Baker’s Delight – more than 700 locations worldwide.
Franchise cost: approx $350,000 – $500,00
Battery World – more than 110 stores, the largest battery retail franchise in the country.
Franchise cost: $300,000 - $350,000.
DEAN MERLO
Not even a pandemic could slow down Dean Merlo’s coffee empire, with revenue soaring as people found time to roast their own beans at home.
He is not letting a little thing like a global pandemic get him down.
The founder of Merlo Coffee last year invested in a multimillion-dollar coffee roasting machine from Italy that will triple the amount of beans processed at the company’s Eagle Farm HQ.
Mr Merlo, who runs a wholesale coffee business as well as a chain of 15 cafes, said they had experienced a surge in online sales since the start of the Covid pandemic.
The company is very strong on its green credentials, with a big emphasis on recycling.
Mr Merlo has been in business coming up to three decades but he and his business partner, CEO James Wilkinson, are not slowing down.
They started in 1992 in a small CBD outlet but now have 19 branded coffee outlets and six espresso bars, operate 10 roasting houses and supply coffee to more than 1500 cafes and restaurants nationally.
They employ 280 people.
It’s a source of family pride that after emigrating from Italy the Merlos brought with them a La San Marco, the first Italian espresso machine ever seen in Queensland.
Mr Merlo, a New Farm local, worked in his father’s Cafe Milano in Queen Street Mall as a teenager and worked many jobs before returning to cafes and coffee.
KENTON CAMPBELL
Mr Campbell boasts about drinking up to five shots a day, something you might expect from the founder of the Zarraffa’s drive-through coffee and cake chain.
In his early days he worked a coffee cart on the streets of his native America before opening his first roastery and cafe on the Gold Coast that became the foundation of his Zarraffa’s empire.
Over the years he has branched out, most recently in August when he announced Beenleigh would become home to a Distillery Road Market development, inspired by New York’s famous Chelsea Market.
His Tonken Property Group is developing the $50 million project into a venue for produce outlets, eateries, nine bars, a brewpub, art and crafts stalls, live entertainment and even an e-sports arena.
After persuading wife Rachel to co-sign a $9000 personal loan he started the coffee franchise, named after the Arabic word for giraffe, zarafa.
It has grown into a chain of 73 outlets through Queensland, NSW and Western Australia.
DON MEIJ
The former pizza franchise owner later became the Domino’s Pizza CEO and is one of the highest paid CEOs in the country, earning $21 million in 2017.
He was almost a schoolteacher but an early job as a delivery driver for Silvio’s Dial-a-Pizza changed his life forever.
Silvio’s merged into Domino’s in 1995 and by the following year Mr Meij took the plunge and bought his first franchise.
“I bought my first store in Morayfield, Caboolture,’’ he said in a 2013 interview.
That store in its first year became the second-busiest store on the planet.
Back then there were about 5000 Domino’s stores worldwide.
Mr Meij went on to own 17 stores in southeast Queensland in the space of five years.
“That little business (of 17 stores) was turning over roughly $17 million, making a couple of million dollars a year,” he said.
In 2001, Mr Meij’s 17 stores and another franchisee’s eight were used to buy 20 per cent of the company and he then became CEO.
JOHN O’BRIEN
There’s nothing more Queensland (apart from deck extensions) than a backyard pool, which helped John O’Brien to build the Poolwerx franchise he founded into a $200 million business.
He recently announced a recruitment drive in the lead-up to summer with more than 100 roles on offer, so Covid clearly has not harmed his business model either.
The Brisbane-based pool maintenance chain has seen revenue climb 10 per cent above forecast so far this year.
A former soft drink sales executive, he started Poolwerx from a single shop in Jindalee in 1992.
“We have never sold so many pool robots and heating systems,’’ he told The Courier-Mail recently.
GAURAV, VISHAL BANSAL
The Bansal brothers announced in 2018 that they would open as many as 50 sites for US burger chain Carl’s Jr across the state.
Gaurav and Vishal Bansal head up the Bansal Group, operator of 19 IGA supermarkets in Queensland.
They decided to trial the Carl’s Jr. brand at Redbank Plains but soon scoped out 10 more sites.
The brothers also have tasted sweet success with Cinnabon, the Australian arm of the American cinnamon roll franchise.
They have stores at Toombul shopping centre and Westfield Garden City, with the Upper Mt Gravatt outlet setting the highest worldwide opening day sales record, selling more than 6500 rolls.
Covid also did not slow them down. They launched more than 40 pop-ups at shopping centres across the state during the height of the pandemic.
Gaurav, who owns a fleet of luxury cars, said in one interview he did not pay himself a large salary.
JACK COWIN
He’s the burger king, just don’t call him that.
The 79-year-old, who brought Hungry Jacks to Australia, at one point took on US parent company Diageo, which owns Burger King, in a well-publicised legal battle. He won — and was awarded $70 mililon in damages.
Mr Cowin doesn’t shy away from a fight, most recently getting stuck into anti-vaxxers and fearing for his employees who had to enforce mask and other Covid rules.
He also advocated for a rent strike during the coronavirus crisis.
Mr Cowin chose the name Hungry Jack’s because the Burger King name had been trademarked when he opened his first store in Perth in 1971.
By 1996 it was the largest franchisee outside the US, operating 150 restaurants directly and a further 18 through third-party franchisees.
He has been estimated to be worth $2.8 billion.
ANTON GAZAL
Mr Gazal might not be up their with the Jack Cowins of the world, but in central Queensland he is known as a successful businessman and community leader
He owns McDonald’s restaurants at Yeppoon, Glenmore, Gracemere and Rockhampton.
Business has usually been good, with Mr Gazal last month advertising 80 jobs.
Mr Gazal said there was always interest from people wanting to work at McDonald’s and he received about 15 applicants a month.
Mr Gazal, who is constructing a dual-lane drive-through and upgrades to the kitchen at the Rockhampton store, said Maccas wasn’t just about teen workers and he was proud to hire all ages.
He said in a recent interview that his Glenmore restaurant would also undergo some upgrades next year.
Despite tough times due to Covid, he never stopped hiring and even offered certificates II and III in retail services and a food safety supervision certificate.
ANN BROWN
Ann Brown is Queensland’s longest-serving Maccas employee, not to mention a franchisee of four stores employing 400 staff.
“It was a great career path,” Ms Brown said in a 2015 interview marking 40 years with McDonald’s.
She warned prospective store owners that they had to put 100 per cent into the job and be in it for the long-term as the standard franchise license period was 20 years.
“It probably took (me) about six years to make a profit,” Ms Brown said.
“We had to sell an awful lot of Big Macs to make a dollar.
MARK WARD
The Toowoomba businessman said in 2016 interview that he “never set out to be the McDonald’s king” but ended up owning every franchise in the city.
He bought his first McDonald’s in Toowoomba more than 20 years ago and by five years ago had eight of them.
“This has been a result not a goal, I never set out to be the McDonald’s king – I wanted to own them all but not for the ego,” he said.
Mr Ward’s empire expanded rapidly in 2016, with deals to buy three restaurants from the city’s other licensee heavyweight, Keith Beer.
The straight-A business student with dreams of working on Wall Street ended up becoming store manager of an Ipswich restaurant before working his way up and up and up.
GARY ST GEORGE
After more than four decades, Gary St George put down the tongs last year following a long career as a Maccas owner.
Over the years Mr St George owned McDonald’s outlets in Rockhampton, Gracemere and Yeppoon, selling his last store in late June, 2020.
Mr St George first started with McDonalds in 1975 at Mermaid Beach, the 13th Maccas to open in Australia.
He worked his way up to become a senior consultant and franchised the Queensland market in the late 1980s, later being appointed Queensland operations manager.
His first license was for a store in Sydney in 1986, before moving back to Queensland.
Mr St George was also instrumental in introducing breakfast menus to the Queensland stores.
LARS HEDBERG
Prominent businessman and former Gympie Show Society president Lars Hedberg is famous as the man who brought Maccas to Gympie.
He and his late wife had prominent and successful business careers in the former gold rush capital, including owning the town’s only McDonald’s outlet, which they later sold before setting up Gympie’s only Hungry Jacks.
Mrs Hedberg also ran Gympie Saddleworld and was well known in equestrian circles.
MARCUS DUNN
THE southern Gold Coast’s McDonald’s mogul Marcus Dunn expanded his Golden Arches empire even further in 2018 when he opened a new restaurant in Tugun.
At the time Mr Dunn already operated four McDonald’s franchises at Reedy Creek, Elanora, Burleigh Waters and Robina Central.
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