Becoming a Franchise Partner

What Are the Steps to Owning My Coffee House?

1. A bit of research.  Get a feel for our brand; read through this website and take some time to visit a couple of our coffee houses.

2. Make an enquiry. Register your initial interest by completing our Franchise Partner Enquiries Form online. We’re in touch for a chat usually within 1-2 days. Then if we’re both keen to get to know each other further, we ask you to complete our Application Form. If you’re interested in an existing coffee house opportunity, we can provide you with the broker’s contact details.

3. Application form.  Submit your form and we review your application in detail. If you meet our initial criteria, we then arrange a mutually suitable time for a first meeting.

4. Discovery meeting. This is your chance to meet the team and discover exactly what’s involved in owning your own coffee house. We’ll probably have a few questions on your application, and you can ask us what you want to know, too. You also bring along your signed Confidentiality Deed to this meeting.

5.Franchise Partner chat.  Next you get the chance to speak to a couple of our Franchise Partners to get their perspective on owning a coffee house. Now’s also a good time to start sourcing a solicitor, accountant and finance broker (we recommend that you have these). They should obviously have experience with franchising and an understanding of our industry.

6. Second meeting. Once you’ve decided that this is the right opportunity for you, next is a behavioural interview. It’s nothing scary; we’re just interested in how your past experiences have shaped you, and how they might relate to you operating your own coffee house. And no doubt you have some more questions for us.

7. Our detailed assessment. We then undertake our detailed assessment of your application – including your finance and proof of funding – we may ask you for more information or supporting documentation (e.g. if you are buying an existing coffee house we need a copy of the conditional contract of sale/purchase). We also assess your application for the particular coffee house you are considering and whether this is suitable for you and Gloria Jean’s Coffees.

8. Decision time. Taking into account you application, interviews and our assessment, we now make a final decision on whether this franchise opportunity is for you and whether we go to the next step – formal approval and legal documentation.

9. Issue of formal approval and legal documentation.  Now it’s time to provide you with a formal approval and the franchise grant documents, This is your time to review the detail of the franchise and finalise your due diligence before you legally sign-up. You need to seek independent, professional advice at this stage. After getting this advice, you return the signed documents to us and pay the fees due.

10. Training.  We book you into our Franchise Partner Induction Program, where you learn about our system for successfully operating a coffee house with Gloria Jean’s Coffees. (Of course, you need to pass our training program before you can open a coffee house or transfer into an existing one.)

11. Final preparations.  The end of the training program signals the final preparations to opening up your very own coffee house.

12. Launch day.  Your dream coffee house is ready to open. Our team will be there to support you during the initial stages, offering all the help you need as you start to find your feet.

Generally, this 12 step application and approval process takes between 6 -14 weeks. Please note that the above process varies depending on whether you are applying for a new coffee house opportunity or purchasing an existing franchise business. There are some extra step/different steps if you are buying an existing franchise business (and the vendor franchisee has to meet separate requirements for the sale to go ahead). Please also note that Gloria Jean’s Coffees requires that all franchisee be supported by (at least) 2 persons who act as guarantors. These guarantors also need to be assessed and approved as suitable for your application to be approved.

If you don’t meet our selection criteria or aren’t approved for the particular coffee house opportunity, we’ll also let you know.