From Jim Wheeler to
Franchisees
March
13, 2012
....it's
me, Jim Wheeler, President & CEO of Candy Bouquet International.
First of all let me thank you for your 2011 purchase of over $1200 of Candy
Bouquet products!! Thank you, and please let us serve you for additional
Candy Bouquet products when you need it. Also, if you've come across any
additional products that you'd like us to carry- chocolate, candy or accessory
- please let us know. After consolidating our previous inventory down by
about 50%, we're now filling our 30,000 square foot warehouse with products at
volume discounts, to provide savings to our Franchisees from what they can
usually buy from vendors. We are negotiating to carry "Fun
Candy" from Hershey and Mars, although getting a discount on these name
brands is proving a bit challenging, even at our volume! However, we've
added other chocolates, other candies and novelty items, and have recently
closed a deal with Burton and Burton to get more baskets and containers
directly shipped from their manufacturers in China. THis agreement gives
us the benefits of direct container-sized shipping from China, but without
the expense of having our own factory or agents physically placed
there. For any other details regarding our expanding product lines,
contact your Customer Service Representative; if you don't have one assigned
yet, speak to David who is heading up that division in addition to his
Warehouse responsibilities.
Keep an eye out on the website's Franchisee Center for news from David for
monthly discounts and specials, too. Our first few since we came on board
have been well received, it seems!
You should have received an email from me in December outlining the first
few changes since we took over. Things have been going well since then,
too. So far for 2012:
- We've added 7 more Franchisees, several more than have had
to close their doors as the recovery from the Great Recession continues.
It is a priority for us to help those in danger of closing; please refer anyone
you're aware of in this danger directly to me, please.
- We've tripled our Trainers, and increased training time by about
25%. Each class has a 'Valedictorian' complete with degree! We've
modeled training after that of a college - calling it "Universe(ity) of
Candy Bouquet"; each day is another progression from Freshman through
Senior, than
Graduate on Day 5!
In that theme, we're offering a Master's program of a day or two of additional
training with Mary Jane Allen (CBI # 423) or Kelly Warden (CBI #6350).
And at the highest level of training, we're offering a WEEK of on-the-hip
one-on-one training with Mary Jane
or Kelly, for which
Franchisees will be awarded the coveted doctorate from Candy Bouquet, the
"Can.D."!! We also completed training for one Franchisee who
had missed out on the advantage of training in Little Rock
itself - with great success!
- We've built a Home-Based Simulator in the Warehouse, so
Trainees can see suggested ways to set up their workstation at home. And
we're building a simulated Storefront right in the Training Room, for those
going right to Storefront mode.
- We've added more products made during training (including soda
glasses, cupcakes, ganache boxes, cakes, and logo business cup bouquet), added
prizes for individual efforts, added more business training including marketing
and advertising strategies, and a commitment to
ongoing support after
graduation. These training changes were among the most adamant
suggestions I received from Franchisees upon acquiring the company.....I
listened, and it's a lot better, thanks to All!
- Each of our Customer Service Representatives (CSR's; David,
Jacquie and Carrie) are contacting Franchisees individually, as I am, to see
what we can do to help them. I have personally contacted 20% of all
Franchisees as of this writing, several many times!
- We've hired Emily back to full time, and she is heading the new
Website renovation, the new major Website overhaul slated to open within the
year, and the new Social Networking programs. "Like" us on
Facebook, please! We are now consistently number 1 on Google for
the
search term "candy
bouquet", so our SEO is much improved.
- I've contacted a handful of 'copycat' companies, and asked them
to cease and desist their copying of Candy Bouquet designs and logos; serving
as In House Counsel with a law degree has helped this process a lot! This
helps preserve the value of the Candy Bouquet brand to you, and us.
- We've initiated supplying Candy Bouquets to Barter organizations
as a model for our Franchisees to improve market awareness of our product; we
bartered hundreds of bouquets in Little Rock for valuable 'barter
bucks' which we can now use to buy products and services the
Company would otherwise have
to purchase. And now, we're following up with every company that chose a
Candy Bouquet to see when they'd like to order there next one, or one hundred!
- We've developed a more standardized Franchisee pricing schedule,
again, to preserve the value of the business you have purchased.
- We've begun a National Corporation Sales campaign, presenting
Corporate Bouquet options to major hotel groups and businesses. We have
successfully sold Holiday Inn, and will be attempting to export this to our
Franchisees locally very soon. We're in negotiation with another hotel
group, a major insurance
company, a major freight carrier and a large hospital gift shop company.
The idea is to improve the presence and awareness of our product in the
marketplace....once someone sees a Candy Bouquet, they want one! This
campaign is a combination of
a national sales
program and by virtue of getting our product out there, a national
marketing program, too.
- We have started a new program of helping busy Franchisees with
their big holiday orders. The first two Franchisees (one in AR, one in
TX) that we assisted by making Bouquets for them that they were unable to due
to time constraints, each sold dozens more than they otherwise
would have had time to create
themselves. Congrats to them, and their banker!
- We are building an Assembly Line in Little Rock to provide these
surplus orders to our Franchisees. And we've developed a new business
line in which we will supply complete Bouquets to people who wish to display
and sell them, but not make them personally; the first two Franchisees
availing themselves of
this program are in Alaska and Kansas - each of which has ordered hundreds of
Bouquets from Little Rock. Our existing Franchisees will ALWAYS have our
first priority in supplying Bouquets, and our existing Franchisees will ALWAYS
have their exclusivity
rights in their
territory per their contract; we are simply covering excess needs, to
everyone's benefit, like an umbrella policy covers a homeowner's insurance
policy in excess.
- We have initiated a computerized TV digital advertising program,
showcasing it in our Training Room and in our two professor Franchisees'
storefronts, in which continuous ads play across a HD TV; these ads are easily
entered from HQ, or by the Franchisee, or both; extra
advertising time on the
TV can be sold by the Franchisee to neighboring businesses, or can be donated
to announce school and church events! Very this century, and very
cost effective. We are adding this to our Training package, and you'll
hear more once we study it better.
- We've had four consultants come through HQ, hired to improve
computing and business practices. Thanks to them, we're making some much
needed improvements in both.
What do these new changes mean for you???? I never mind that
question, and I fully anticipate it and embrace it with you as the most
important question to be directed to any Company's CEO. My answer:
1. We will continue to strive to bring you quality products, with a much
broader offering of gift baskets, balloons, plush and other gift items, at a
cost savings compared to other vendors available to you. We intend to
strengthen the system of Candy Bouquet International.
2. We intend to drive more business your way, through our National Corporate
Sales program, revising our marketing and advertising, and renovating our
Website and Social Network presence. We will strengthen
the service of Candy Bouquet International.
3. We pledge to greatly improve the home office support of existing Franchisees
as our TOP priority, concomitant with our developing supporting lines of
business like the Corporate Sales program, the Assembly Line excess supply
program, the development of "Bouquet Salespersons" like
Tupperware ladies and Avon ladies of old for whom we ship
whole Bouquets by the dozens, the participation with Barter Exchanges, and even
the sale of individual Bouquets from HQ. We will
increase support from Candy Bouquet International to our Franchisees.
Candy Bouquet
International: Combining a 20 year old System with new Service and
Support for our Franchisees!!
A Successful and Healthy Franchisor makes for Successful and Healthy
Franchisees......We're all in the same great big retail/gift/chocolate &
candy boat together!!! It will work best if we all row in the same
direction!
Finally, allow me to invite you to our tentatively planned Convention in Little
Rock, November 2-4, 2012, at the Presidential Holiday Inn. This has been
the number one request of all the Franchisees I've spoken with, asking for the
opportunity to share our ideas and programs. Then, in the fall of 2013,
we're planning an even bigger convention, probably in Las Vegas.
But for now, mark your calendar for this November if you can possibly
join us! We'll have excellent speakers, workshop leaders, business
consultants....and healthy Warehouse discounts, too.
The topics above are among the most important we've been working on. I
didn't highlight the facelift we're planning on for our Warehouse exterior, or
the improvement of staff offices, or the hiring/re-deployment of existing staff
to improve service to you, the Franchisee. Nor did I focus on the few
sticky situations I inherited from which we're escaping just fine....Candy
Bouquet will continue to benefit from housing a lawyer intramurally.
Staff attitude is improved; processes are getting streamlined. Hang in
there with us, as we grow into the Candy Bouquet Universe together!
Please contact me with any particular needs you have, or ideas you have, or
products you'd like us to look into. I've also been touched that about
10% of all the Franchisees sent me and my family a simple "Welcome"
email once we started this job four months ago.
Thanks for all you've done, and are doing, and finally will do for Candy
Bouquet. You will hear from me again, as you will from your Corporate
Headquarters. We're sorry for prior frustrations....we're on our way to
serve you Better!
Dr. Jim Wheeler, Esq.
President & CEO
Candy Bouquet International, Inc.