Franchising

Few applicants will usually successfully progress through the Application Process and eventually be awarded an opportunity. With this in mind, we consider a Franchisee to be a unique person. As a franchisee you will be running your own business, yet within the parameters of the Nando's brand and business format.

You will not only have to have the required financial resources and track record, but you will also have to possess the attributes of a business owner to successfully fulfill your role as a Nando's franchisee.

In operating a Nando's restaurant, you will have a number of responsibilities including:

• Excellence in service levels
• Creating a personalized, friendly and fun environment
• Marketing of the restaurant and the brand
• Business management
• Customer orientation and community relations
• People management
• The franchisee should be credit worthy and have available financial resources
• The franchisee should be financially sound
• No formal qualification is required although, in some instances, this may be an advantage
• A franchisee with managerial experience and/or having been self-employed is ideal
• The franchisee should be computer literate
• The franchisee should be someone willing to get their hands dirty who can pro-actively market his business, sell himself, the Nando's concept and the Nando's Experience. The franchisee must be an owner-operator

• The franchisee should be credit worthy and have available financial resources
• The franchisee should be financially sound
• No formal qualification is required although, in some instances, this may be an advantage

A franchisee with managerial experience and/or having been self-employed is ideal:

• The franchisee should be computer literate
• The franchisee should be someone willing to get their hands dirty who can pro-actively market his business, selling himself, the Nando's concept and the Nando's Experience. The franchisee must be an owner-operator.

The franchisee needs to be an energetic self-starter with a professional approach to business.

• The franchisee must be people orientated with excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• He/She must have a love for working with people and must be capable of gaining and maintaining rapport with his customer base through being friendly, patient and tolerant, yet firm.
• He must be able to manage others effectively, have above average motivational skills and create the personalized friendly and fun environment.
• The franchisee needs to share an alignment with the Nando's values. He must be able to model the characteristics of a true Nandocas.
• The franchisee should be of respectable appearance and of good physical health.
• The franchisee must demonstrate entrepreneurial skills; yet also show the ability and willingness to be a team player.
• The franchisee should be enthusiastic, dynamic and self-motivated. He/She must be willing to reach for the top with a strong will to succeed.
• The franchisee must consider his business as a long-term investment. He/She must show commitment and have a loyal and consistent character.
• By the nature of our business and the QSR sector, the franchisee needs to have stamina and strength to commit to the hard work and long hours needed when operating a Nando's franchise.

Here it is important to stress that, while every effort is made to ensure that the site will be right to house a viable operation, naturally no guarantees or warranties can be given by Nando's in that regard. By taking a proactive and informed approach to site selection and network growth we will increase and improve our market coverage. We have an experienced Restaurant Development team that will see a new project through from blue print to final completion on a turnkey basis.

Included in the turnkey process are the following services:

• Evaluation and/or Selection of Premises
• Assistance with Lease Negotiations
• Drawings
• Interior Design
• Site Development (outside of Landlord's scope of works)
• Project Management
• Other important issues involving premises
• Applicants are strongly advised not to enter into any lease agreement for any premises without first obtaining the advice of Nando's property experts.
• Any options entered into in respect of a potential site must be made clearly subject to the approval of the site by Nando's.
• The term of any option entered into must be sufficient to enable Nando's to firstly, finalize approval of the franchisee and, secondly, to complete a full assessment of the site.
• Franchisees must avoid formally negotiating the terms of any potential lease without the presence/input of our property experts.
• All and any specifications for development of the site to accommodate a Nando's restaurant may only be furnished to the prospective Landlord/developer by a member of Nando's Project Management/Property Team.
• Under no circumstances may a potential franchisee present him/herself to a prospective Landlord or developer as a representative of Nando's unless such representation has been formally authorized by Nando's.
• Applicants are to be guided by the Principles of Site Allocations and the provisions of the Application Process outlined on this site and respect the fact that they will not have any formal claim to a potential site until such time as they have been successful in having the opportunity awarded to them by Nando's.
• Our Property team evaluates all potential sites and only upon full and final approval of the site in terms of this process is a sanction granted to pursue the establishment of a Nando's restaurant at that location. Two very important considerations when choosing a site are firstly, the surrounding demographics and secondly, the catchment area. We use a combination of trade area analysis, drive time analysis and demographic research to study sites before placement of the opportunity.

We provide intensive training for our franchisees, which encompasses practical on the job training as well as theoretical training. This training will incorporate many elements, most of which relate to the following areas as outlined in the Operations Manual that will form the basis of your day-to-day management tasks.

New franchisees should prepare themselves for an uncompromising 2 months training and make adequate provision, both social and financial, for this period. This is especially important when taking cognisance of the fact that the training will be conducted at the closest Nando's Training Restaurant which may be some distance away and require the trainees (including the Franchisee) to arrange accommodation, travel, etc.

It is necessary to emphasize that the 2 months (8 weeks) training of Franchisees is not negotiable and it is imperative that all applicants remain mindful of this critical element at all times throughout the Application process and the impact of the possible training venue on their overall decision to proceed.

This training is usually structured on a "6-days-a-week" basis and will cover the following:

• General Restaurant Management;
• Restaurant Administration;
• Personnel Management and Training;
• Customer Care;
• Safety and Security;
• Marketing;
• Restaurant Maintenance;
• Cleaning and Hygiene;
• Industrial Relations;
• Product Preparation and Presentation;
• Raw Material Management, and;
• General Business and Financial Management;

The training provided is extensive and sufficiently comprehensive to ensure that a new franchisee is familiar with every aspect of the business prior to opening. Furthermore, and notwithstanding that, the initial staff complement will be trained by Nando's for a period of no less than six weeks. The franchisee must have the ability to train subsequent/replacement staff at a level of efficiency sufficient to ensure the communication and maintenance of all of Nando's standards.

Throughout the training phase, the franchisee will be monitored for development. Any shortfalls/inadequacies will be addressed on an on-going basis. Development will be monitored on all aspects, from cleaning the grills to customer communication and relations.

Only once the franchisee has been certified as fully competent in all areas will they be permitted to commence operation of their own restaurant and, even then, with the initial watchful eye of their Regional Support Team.

There is no doubt that the level of competence the management of an outlet exhibits is the critical success factor of any Nando's restaurant. We pride ourselves on the quality of our training and our ability to produce highly successful operators, when coupled with the commitment, dedication and hard work of a new Nandocas.

All matters considered, no restaurant will be permitted to commence trading until such time as all affected departments and/or divisions within Nando's have confirmed that they are completely satisfied that all the Franchisors pre-opening requirements have been met. This confirmation must be in writing as laid down by Nando's and signed by the franchisee as proof that they have received the applicable input.