Franchising News

Givex Installs Technology into Milestones Restaurants

Part oF Givex PlatForM rollout into 650 FoodtastiC restaurants aCross 21 brands

Givex Information Technology Group ltd. (“Givex”) (TSX: GIVX) is very happy to announce the successful installation of its leading-edge restaurant technology platform in 40 Milestones restaurants Canada-wide.

With this latest round of installations, Givex has implemented its end-to-end technology solution in more than a third of Foodtastic’s 650 restaurants across 21 brands.

Today, 40 Milestones restaurants in B.c., alberta, Ontario and new Brunswick use a full suite of Givex technology, including point-of-sale (POs), kitchen display, gift card and payment systems in addition to an online ordering app. notably, the installations were completed in less than two months despite the challenges of the holiday season, winter weather and supply chain issues. learn more at givex.com

kItchen tune-up Arrives in Canada

Kitchen Tune-Up, a national kitchen remodeling company known for its five service options to update kitchens & cabinetry has arrived in Canada. The brand is now serving Northwest and South Calgary, communities throughout ontario and Alberta.

Founded in 1988, Kitchen Tune-Up offers both residential and commercial solutions. services include the company’s famous Tune-Up, a proprietary wood reconditioning process, as well as its signature 1 day Tune-Up, cabinet painting, cabinet refacing, cabinet redooring, and new cabinets.

While most kitchen remodeling services can take weeks, leaving kitchens inaccessible, Kitchen Tune-Up can finish “We are happy that Foodtastic selected Givex as its restaurant technology platform,” said Mo chaar, Givex chief commercial officer. “The Givex platform, including GivexPOs, gift cards, online ordering and Pay@Table, provides Foodtastic with full insight into their business so they can better serve their franchisees and customers,” added chaar.

Foodtastic is a major player in the canadian food and beverage business, with 650 restaurants across 21 brands, including Milestones, second cup and Pita Pit. it was Givex’s technology, efficiency, service and the ability to quickly generate and provide relevant data that led Foodtastic to choose Givex as its restaurant technology partner when it decided to replace its legacy POs system.

its work in as little time as one day. With more than 265 franchised territories nationwide, Kitchen Tune-Up offers personalized service and incredible results that are structured around customer service Trustpoints to ensure a hasslefree experience from start to finish. The brand helps create dream kitchens by listening and creating customers vision and exceeding expectations as home improvement is the brand’s passion.

Kitchen Tune-Up is part of home Franchise concepts® (hFc). One of the world’s largest franchising systems in the home improvement goods and services space and among the world’s largest franchise businesses. hFc is a subsidiary of JM Family enterprises, inc., a privately held company with $18 billion in revenue and more than 4,500 associates. JM Family has earned various awards for its culture, products and services, including 23 consecutive years on Fortune’s 100 Best companies to Work For list.

For more information on Kitchen Tune-Up, visit www.franchise.kitchentuneup.com.

First Canadian Location for BIg frog cuStom t-ShIrtS & more

Barely eight months after opening, the first Canadian location of Big Frog Custom T-Shirts & More in Edmonton is bounding forward with a schedule brimming with community give back.

The summer will be especially busy as Big Frog edmonton owners shannon and Brian Marowitch keep business rolling at a fast clip while simultaneously supporting two local causes close to their hearts – animals and kids.

With a donation of 400 shirts for the edmonton humane society’s Pets in the Park, Big Frog will make a splash at the 30th annual fundraiser’s fun run and day-long activities on June 26. huge animal lovers, shannon and Brian had so much fun hanging out with Buddy for his photo shoot, with lots of canine (and Big Frog/ human) smiles.

On June 28, shannon and Brian will support the rainbow society of alberta’s 7 in 7 Ultra endurance charity run with t-shirts and other gear. Granting wishes to sick children ages three to 18 since 1986, shannon and Brian’s support of the rainbow society fits their focus on children’s causes but also on health and fitness, other priorities front and center in their lives.

Their edmonton shop opened in august 2021 with a foundational, community give back mantra – they’ve supported stollery children’s hospital fundraisers and currently have an initiative to help Ukraine humanitarian efforts, something near and dear to their hearts, since shannon’s great grandparents immigrated to canada from West Ukraine in 1900 and the family has a homestead in Vegreville, alberta, a large Ukrainian community.

Email Shannon and Brian at southedmonton@bigfrog. com or learn more about their shop at BIGFRoG.CoM/ SoUTHEDMoNToN. Find information about Big Frog Canada Corp. at BIGFRoG.CA. Big Frog Edmonton is the first location in Canada. Big Frog has 77 total franchise units in the U.S.

Franchise Expert John DeHart Launches Franchise growthlaB to Fuel Growth of Franchises

CustoM ProGraMs helP FranChisors taCkle sales, oPerations and Growth

over 400 franchise brands launch each year in North America but only a handful grow to more than 100 units. Most don’t make it past 25. With the largest franchise industry in the world, North America has plenty of franchise start-ups but it has a scale-up problem.

Franchise expert John dehart was tired of seeing so many franchise brands launch and stall.

after selling his stake in one of canada’s most successful franchise brands, nurse next door, dehart is drawing on 20 years of franchise experience to create a franchise “lab” to help steer emerging franchisors past common sticking points to accelerate their growth. canadian Franchise association, i watched for years as new franchise systems would launch, but never take off,” says dehart

The stats in north american franchising are revealing. Two years after launching a franchise system, 65 percent of franchisors have 0 locations and 27 percent have only 1 to 10 locations.

Franchise GrowthLab is currently working with 25 companies to improve their systems and open more locations. “The team at Franchise GrowthLab is exactly what a fast-growth franchisor like me needs,” says John evans, ceO of everline coatings. “They have already been where i need to go. i am building a north american-wide brand, and they help me prepare for what lies ahead.”

kumon

Franchise Owners Take cOnTrOl OF Their FuTure while Making a DiFFerence in The lives OF chilDren

when teacher christina mitchell grew tired of classroom behaviour issues and having too many students in a class, she began looking for different career options. her business owner father-in-law gave important advice: choose something you know about.

“My husband heard about Kumon, and i happened to teach a very advanced firstgrader who used Kumon at home. i felt like those two things meant something, so we looked into it.” That was 13 years ago, and she is happy with her choice to become the owner-operator of Vimont Kumon centre near Montreal.

Last summer, an ipsos poll of 1,001 canadian adults found that 67% of parents thought virtual learning during the pandemic would have a negative impact on their children’s future opportunities. increasingly, parents are turning to Kumon to not only ensure their kids catch up but

christina mitchell

“The extensive training that Kumon provides for its instructors helped her build a successful business. “I definitely knew how to deal with kids and parents, but I had zero business experience.”

also to give them every advantage going forward. To meet the increased demand, Kumon has launched an aggressive growth strategy to open new centres around canada.

perfect time to launch a new career

The pandemic also has spurred The Great resignation. as people leave behind their old careers in search of more fulfilling work and more control over their futures, they are discovering that Kumon offers the best of both worlds. Kumon is the top education franchise in north america, with about 1,600 Kumon centres in canada and the U.s. although Kumon has room to grow in many communities, the brand anticipates high growth opportunity this year in Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg, Toronto, calgary and edmonton.

a common trait among Kumon Franchisees is a desire to help students perform to their highest potential. “The best part has been the interactions with students and hearing how well they are doing from their parents,” says Mitchell.

Mitchell says the extensive training that Kumon provides for its instructors helped her build a successful business. “i definitely knew how to deal with kids and parents, but i had zero business experience,” she says.

Though she knew students who had used Kumon, she had not used the actual methodology until she went through Kumon’s comprehensive training. after completing training, she enrolled her own children in the program. “i’m glad i did. They’re grown now, but they improved in school and continue to excel in university. i can see the benefits from both sides.”

she says it took about one year from the time she expressed interest in Kumon to opening her own centre.

the kumon method

Kumon was founded in 1958 when Toru Kumon opened the first Kumon Math centre in Osaka, Japan. Kumon was a math teacher who had created worksheets to help his own son, a second-grader, practice math basics. Those worksheets became the prototype of the Kumon Method.

Today, Kumon centres offer education enrichment in both reading and math. students visit the centres once per week and practice at home for 30 minutes per day, per subject, on other days.

it’s a formula that has worked for more than 60 years – and it’s all based on the importance of mastering concepts using worksheets that were developed by a father out of love and concern for his son. This year, Kumon north america launched a new creative campaign that leans into that tradition of practice with the tagline, practice makes possibilities™.

what Sets kumon apart

in addition to being a respected education program, Kumon is highly regarded in the franchise world. On entrepreneur magazine’s prestigious Franchise 500®, Kumon has been the no. 1-ranked education franchise for 21 consecutive years, and it was ranked no. 6 overall for the last two years in a row.

Kumon attracts top franchise candidates because of honours like these and because:

• The Kumon Franchise opportunity is extremely affordable, with a franchise fee of only $2,000 and startup costs ranging from $59,884 to $153,878, depending on location. Kumon also offers generous incentives to cover some of the costs for a new Kumon centre, such as new centre marketing, signage, furniture, carpet and more.

• The Kumon business model promotes steady enrollment, and therefore, steady revenue. Because Kumon offers enrichment programming rather than tutoring, student enrollment doesn’t fluctuate as much as it does in tutoring centres, where kids tend to drop out of programs after catching up to their grade level or passing a big test.

• Franchise owners find operating a

Kumon centre to be personally fulfilling, as they can see how their work makes a difference in the lives of children in their communities. “ Kumon is the top education franchise in North America, with about 1,600 Kumon Centres in Canada and the U.S.”

stepping into the world of entrepreneurship requires commitment and drive. a love for the product or service is helpful, and different franchise models suit different personalities.

When asked about the benefits of working in the owner-instructor model of Kumon, Mitchell noted that it combines her love for teaching with the economic rewards of being an entrepreneur. “i have the reward of seeing children’s educational growth, with less red tape and bureaucracy than as a teacher in the school system.”

Kumon’s proven business model, affordable cost, extensive training and support programs have positioned it at the top of the education franchise world. Kumon is currently recruiting instructors who want to own and operate a profitable business and make a lasting, positive impact on children in their communities.

If that sounds like you, we invite you to learn more at www.kumonfranchise.com/ca-en/home