About Beds is a young and innovative company established with the purpose of, retailing nationally throughout South Africa, a select range of quality household furniture items. The surge in building and tourism industries, rapid market expansion, and general economic activity over the greater part of the decade, in both residential and commercial sectors, has fueled prolific growth in the furniture retail industry.
About Beds products are sourced from respected and reliable manufacturers that focus on quality, affordable products for our customers.
What this means for our network of About Beds Franchisees is:
- a healthy GDP growth in excess of 15% per annum for their business;
- high quality products from reliable manufacturers for their customers;
- 30 years experience in the furniture market;
- significant spending by consumers on household products;
- a general trend of home owners intent on trading up to better property, a better lifestyle and or improving existing property and household assets.
About Beds intend to operate branches throughout South Africa via independent franchised operations that share one common goal:
- to generate wealth for themselves and for one another by providing the customer with a solution that meets their household needs, whether it be comfortable, luxurious or affordable living.
To date, activity within the furniture retail market has generally been driven by large corporations that can invest millions into national outlet infrastructure, intricate logistic channels, and vast amounts of stock. This served as a conduit for the formation of fortified entry barriers that protected well established participants. However, the South African market has adopted a new approach of entering a market, through franchising.
Franchising allows About Beds to enter an extremely lucrative market segment successfully. It does this by allowing entrepreneurs to invest an affordable amount of cash into a franchised business model that has proven to be very successful over the past couple of years.
As such the model helps to secure market and brand share for the network, continued market share growth and an opportunity for entrepreneurs to generate solid return on investment and prosperity, for themselves and their families.
About Beds concept
About Beds has formed several strategically important and powerful alliances with manufacturers and wholesalers, giving franchisees access to a virtually limitless supply of furniture products under various brand names.
About Beds brings to the table a rich source of knowledge of local market conditions, marketing expertise and systems-related capability that paves the way for instant transacting and on-time logistics. These attributes, in conjunction with quality products and unassailable price leadership, should translate into a fair degree of market dominance over the next ten years.
About Beds has opted for franchising as a vehicle for market development, based on various successful rollouts. A limited number of opportunities are presented to select individuals to own a substantial part of the furniture retail market.
An About Beds franchisee will provide its clients; home owners, hotels, hostels and guesthouses with the following benefits:
- on-time logistics through direct supply from the manufacturers through the franchisee to the customer;
- instant off-the-shelf supply to the public;
- a vast range of quality products;
- easy to use ordering & financial systems;
- full warranty and technical support on all products;
- elimination of the tedious and often time consuming 'shopping around' process; and most importantly;
- savings to customers due to bulk bargaining power.
The About Beds offer
Franchising provides a collective negotiation power without which the individual dealer would not be able to compete. It also lays the foundation for a learning network through which its members benefit from a tried and tested strategy and continuously learn from one another. It builds a collective brand which drives profits and secures continuity. It allows for centralised marketing campaigns and economies of scale shared throughout the system.
Franchising also provides a measure of centralised control over aspects such as the price and quality of the product and service level aspects incorporated into the offering. In a competitive business environment, effective and proven systems, professional sales techniques, and customer service methodology are the pillars of differentiation and advantage.
The About Beds solution and business model constitutes such a platform.
An About Beds franchisee can expect the following from its franchisor:
- ur best efforts to ensure availability and on-time delivery of stock;
- a simple but effective business plan;
- comprehensive product, systems, and market training and technical and management support;
- quality products with full warranties and technical backup where relevant;
- assistance with establishment of the franchise outlet;
- a comprehensive range of stock;
- regularly updated promotional materials;
- centralised marketing campaigns generating valuable business leads locally;
- access to state of the art ordering and financial systems; and
- a sound return on investment in as far it is under the franchisee and franchisor’s control.
Business protocol and ethics
About Beds is a company based on high value principles that go beyond the engagement rules prescribed by recognised business ethics. We do endeavour to be professional, diligent, responsible and profitable, but we also believe that chasing money alone is an empty goal and exercise in futility. Instead we pursue the good that sharing success with others can bring, including money, friendship, achievement, and, quite simply, good fun.
We trust that you will find us flexible in approach but rigid in determination to optimise our clients’ shareholders’ and employees’ interests.
Franchise location
There are various location/site options relating to an About Beds franchise.
- A showroom, shop-front set up preferably within a high traffic area such as a retail park or shopping centre,
- A house office conversion with high traffic and awareness
Awareness is the name of the game, the more traffic you have the more aware you will be.
Recommended course of action
About Beds has appointed Nic Jordaan, a specialist in the retail market to attend to all franchise enquiries. He may be contacted at 083 628 8669 at your earliest convenience.
Descr:
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