Peter Irvine, the co-founder of the Gloria Jean’s coffee chain in Australia, and owner of the international franchise, talks to Wealth Creator.

Peter's Franchising Tips

  • Any franchisor has to have a sound and be supportive of training and innovation.
  • Franchisees have to realise that they don’t just buy a franchise and think it is going to be an instant success. They have to realise that business is hard work, and that the franchisor is not perfect and will make mistakes.
  • The franchisor and franchisees need to realise that they are in it together and together they can make it work.
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Peter Irvine - Coffee King

Peter Irvine, the co-founder of the Gloria Jean’s coffee chain in Australia, and owner of the international franchise, talks to Wealth Creator.

 

 

Peter Irvine - Coffee King

Peter Irvine - Coffee KingIssue 32
Peter Irvine, the co-founder of the Gloria Jean’s coffee chain in Australia, and owner of the international franchise, talks to Wealth Creator about how he achieved entrepreneurial success and what advice he would give on overcoming risk, building a strong global brand and achieving wealth creation goals through franchising.

How I Got Started
I had been working in the advertising industry for 30 years when my business partner, Nabi Saleh, asked my wife and I if we would like to do something different. He was already an importer of coffee and tea and other products for retailers like Coles and Woolworths, as well as hotels and restaurants, and had been approached about the Gloria Jean’s idea. So he showed us the colour brochure, but before he gave it to me he mentioned ‘Gloria Jean’s’ and I said ‘I don’t know a lot about fashion’. He laughed and said ‘no, no its coffee’. So he showed us the brochure and then we went to the US to take a look. As much as they didn’t really have it all together over there, the concept - particularly the product - was terrific. At the time it was a merchandise coffee and tea gift store. So we negotiated the Australian rights for the first 10 years to open 25 stores.

Making Changes
We opened near Christmas and it was fantastic because at that time of year it’s always busy. But after that, sales slowed so we took a closer look at the coffee industry. We discovered that Gloria Jean’s was not aligned to the demands of the market. We discovered that the brand wasn’t really going anywhere overseas, so we started to remodel it into what you see today. These changes have been hugely successful. We currently have about 434 stores open in Australia. There are many new countries under negotiation and Gloria Jean’s will become even bigger. Unintentionally we have turned the whole coffee industry on its ear. When we started virtually no-one was carrying around coffee. Now you see people carrying hot drinks all the time and relaxing in coffee outlets like ours.

Going Global
Two and a half years ago we bought the rights outright for Gloria Jean’s Australia because all we are doing is paying the US owners royalties. We knew we were going to grow, which would require buying the rights to more stores, so we figured we might as well use that money to get ownership. Then they offered us the global rights. They were operating out of 15 countries and most stores were basket cases. Eventually, we signed the rights to buy the brand worldwide including the US and also to supply all countries except the US. They became a master franchise reporting to us and since then 46 countries have signed up, with close to 30 of those trained and operating.

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