The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

A Grand Bahama business yesterday said it is eyeing the possibility of a second franchise expansion to New Providence this year following the move into Abaco.

Paul Brown, co-owner of Island Yogurt, told Tribune Business the company chose Abaco for its first franchise because the franchisee requested it. They also saw the potential generated by Abaco’s rebuilding and wanted to take advantage of it.

Revealing that he has also received inquiries for a franchise on New Providence, Mr Brown said: “We were approached by someone who wanted to open one in Abaco because the island is being rebuilt.

“Apparently there is feverish activity over there, so there is money going into there. Obviously the Government wants to get it back up and running because it is so hard hit, so there is a lot of activity going on.”

While “nobody’s got any money,” right now, and “the market is sluggish”, Mr Brown added: “We have interest in Nassau, but we will have to wait and see what happens on that one.

“We have somebody who is interested in Nassau. Actually we’ve had a couple of people interested, but it never came out and we feel that the one in Abaco is up and running and people see that it’s a viable opportunity.”

While the franchising process for international brands is expensive, with some charging more than six-figure sums, Mr Brown said for My Island Yogurt he levies as little as $10,000 for a franchise.

He added: “We are open to all of the other islands. Somebody mentioned Exuma to us, and anybody who is interested can go to our website and find out information.”

There are no immediate plans to franchise Island Yogurt throughout the Caribbean just yet as this will require more strategy. Mr Brown said this might involve a “master franchise” strategy because, “the logistics of doing business from one country to another, you’re looking at different laws. So a master franchise would grant the right to open that franchise throughout the whole country that we’re in”.