Preliminary Notes:
1. The following average sales, expenses, and income figures for fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 were obtained from unaudited profit and loss statements submitted by Auntie Anne’s franchisees. All of Auntie Anne’s franchisees report financial information based upon a uniform reporting system.
2. Auntie Anne’s has not included information for an enclosed mall location if: the franchise was not in operation during the entire fiscal year 2010, the ownership of the franchised location changed in fiscal year 2010, or the franchisee submitted late, incomplete or illegible financial information or submitted such information in an unacceptable format.
3. Out of 587 Auntie Anne’s locations operating in enclosed malls during the entire fiscal year 2010, 526 operated under the same ownership during the entire fiscal year, and 474 (90.11% of the 526) submitted their financial information in an acceptable format.
2010 Net Sales for Auntie Anne’s Franchises By Type of Location
1. Enclosed Malls (474 Units)
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So what is your thought of other regions not doing as good as the Northeast? Could it be the cold weather brings more traffic to enclosed malls and thus more sales or different diet preference? Also as you mentioned in other posts, Focus Brands is opening more locations to recoup their investment on Auntie Annies. How do you assess the impact on the brand?
Hi Regina,
Thank you for your comment and questions. You certainly make a valid point about the cold weather possibly bringing in more traffic to enclosed malls during the winter months. Another possibility is that growth in the Northeast has been more measured, so they’ve been able to cherry pick the best locations in top tier malls. In other regions of the country where there are more Auntie Anne’s stores vying for space, they inevitably have to dip into locations that are in the second or third tiers of the mall hierarchy. But this is just speculation on my part.
I’m aware of the argument that building out several stores within close (but reasonable) proximity in a short period of time helps build brand awareness (think Starbucks). But I also know that overexpansion can hurt a once-hot brand (some would argue that Cold Stone Creamery has suffered this fate.) I think it’s important to open new stores to increase brand awareness among consumers, but it’s just as vital to know when to stop expanding. Time will tell if FOCUS Brands is able to strike that delicate balance when it comes to Auntie Anne’s.
Thank you for supporting the blog!
Best regards,
Ambrosio
I thought most rent % goals were 10% doesn’t this being 15% make a difference thanks john
Hi Nanny1929,
Auntie Anne’s average rent (15% of net sales) is not ideal, but getting it under 10% is not the easiest thing to achieve. (The rent of my former UPS Store was around 15% of sales as well). I wouldn’t consider this to be a dealbreaker, just a negative factor. On the plus side, Auntie Anne’s Cost of Good Sold of around 18% of sales is terrific, and provides some cushion for the other expense categories.
Best regards,
Ambrosio