The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Dairy Queen franchise has created 14 new jobs through its $400,000 expansion to Cable Beach, its principal yesterday disclosing ambitions to grow beyond its fourth location with outlets in downtown Nassau and other islands.

Derek Osborne told Tribune Business that his family had invested $1.2 million in expanding the brand since acquiring its Bahamian rights six years ago, increasing staff numbers six-fold in that time.

Explaining that the latest opening in the Hoffer Plaza, opposite Sandals Royal Bahamian, two weeks ago was intended to give Dairy Queen full-island coverage, Mr Osborne said further growth remained on the company’s “radar”.

While no immediate moves were planned, he told this newspaper that an outlet in downtown Nassau was in its thinking, coupled with locations in Freeport and Abaco.

And, fuelling the franchise’s expansion, like-for-like sales for 2013 to-date are some 4 per cent ahead of 2013 comparatives.

Dairy Queen’s growth shows that despite the uncertainty and relative gloom that pervades much of the Bahamian economy, there are businesses still prepared to take risks and expand.

Mr Osborne told Tribune Business: “We still have the confidence and means to invest. Dairy Queen was there [at Cable Beach] before we bought it from AML Foods, and we thought we had to go back out west.

“The space became available, and we wanted to spread ourselves out around the island. The west was ideal.”

He acknowledged that Baha Mar’s $2.6 billion resort project “played a role” in Dairy Queen’s Cable Beach move, even though it was a year away from becoming operational.

“Hopefully, Baha Mar does bring more traffic, both employees and guests, but we think it will be a great store, especially for cake,” Mr Osborne added. “We have Dairy Queen cakes, and think they will do well in that market.”

While the franchise’s Harbour Bay, Mall at Marathon and Southwest Plaza outlets cover the eastern, central and south-central areas of New Providence, it had no outlets in the high income, affluent northwestern district.

Mr Osborne indicated that the Cable Beach outlet would target this demographic by offering a slightly more premium product, adding: “The average ticket is higher in that store than other stores, and hopefully it will help us benefit from that location.”

Cable Beach is the third store that Dairy Queen will have opened under the ownership of Mr Osborne and his family, as both the Mall at Marathon and Southwest Plaza locations were added following the 2007 acquisition.

“If you look at the three stores we’ve built, we’ve injected $1.2 million altogether over a six-year period,” Mr Osborne said, “and are now up to about 60 staff. When we bought it, it had eight-nine employees.”

Dairy Queen appears to have thrived as a family-owned business, where it likely gets more focused attention than in the corporate structure of its previous owner, BISX-listed AML Foods.

“We have a good brand, Bahamians like our brand, and we want to make sure we benefit,” Mr Osborne added,

“We think the west is a good location for our brand. There’s no other ice cream location out here.” The closest rival, he indicated, was Lickety Split on JFK Drive.

Dairy Queen’s ambitions are not stopping at Cable Beach, with Mr Osborne telling Tribune Business: “We hope to grow again, and do additional stores in the future.

“Downtown [Nassau] would be on our radar, and probably Grand Bahama and the Family Islands. We are thinking about it. We are looking for opportunities in Abaco, and probably Grand Bahama.”

The franchise’s immediate priority, though, is to consolidate its new Cable Beach location, Mr Osborne saying: “There’s no immediate plans for another store right now.

“We need to see how the economy goes, the introduction of VAT and Baha Mar. Things are still pretty tight, but we are confident, Bahamians like our brand, and we can do well in this market.”

Mr Osborne’s confidence has likely been bolstered further by Dairy Queen’s relatively strong 2013 performance year-to-date.

“We’re up slightly over last year. Total sales, same store sales, are up 4 per cent. I think we’ve done very well,” he told Tribune Business.

“With the addition of the two new stores prior to Cable Beach, sales are four times what they were six years ago.

“We’ve added new products, so we’re quite confident Dairy Queen will do well. We’ve added cakes, fruit drinks, smoothies and iron grilled sandwiches.”