Share Tea Jayaone

In this assignment, students are required to select and research a franchise of his/her interest. Using the franchise evaluation checklist (Scarborough (2011) pp.205-206) as a guide, the students will contact the franchisor and write a report on the terms and conditions of the franchise contract. The students will also interview an existing local franchisee of the franchise and report on the performance and challenges faced by the franchisee. For me, I have chosen ShareTea located at Jayaone as my research franchise.

The business of Pearl Tea is blooming recently, like ShareTea. Share Tea is a renowned Pearl Milk Tea brand from Taiwan which has just been brought to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia recently. The first ever outlet is located in Berjaya Times Square and now it have more than 20 outlets all over Malaysia. The outlet seems to be eye catching which is designed in red.

Share Tea is tea lovers and they aim to share their passion in making great tea. Share Tea originates from Taiwan and they strongly believe in using their heart and soul in serving only the finest quality of the tea for customers. They monitor the production of their tea leaves every season to ensure that the best quality and standard are met.

In 2009, Taipei was proud to have hosted its first Deaflympics Games and indefinitely they were eager to play a good host. Being a tourism spot with an interesting food culture, the organizing committee was determined to embed an unforgettable experience for their guests. Renowned Bubble Tea was among the top o the list. 666 beverage brands vied for a spot to make its presence to the event. Share Tea participated in its selection and was the only bubble tea brand which surfaced to pass committee’s stringent requirement, to be named the official bubble tea representative of Taipei, giving its title Taipei No.1.

When the franchisee bought this franchise, the cost is around 400,000. However, the cost has been raised to around 500,000 now.

How much does your franchise gross per year? How much does it net? Are the procedures followed to make royalty payment to the franchise burdensome?

The franchisee refuses to answer this question.

Are the financial projection of revenue, expenses, and profits that the franchisor provided me accurate in your judgement?

There are still some different but mostly it is accurate.

Does the franchisor give you enough assistance in operating your business?

Yes, the franchisor will provide support and assistance, like applying the license, finding the suitable location, rental of shop, renovation of shop and many of others.

How many hours, an average, do you work a week?

9 hours every day including break. The working hours are divided to two shift which is morning shift and noon shift. Morning shift is start from 9.30 a.m. to 6.30p.m while noon shift is start from 1.30 p.m. to 10.30 p.m.

How often do you get vacation?

There are no vacation unless public holiday. Sometimes still need to work on public holiday.

Have you been caught off-guard by any unexpected costs or expectations?

No.

Does your franchisor provide ongoing training and support to you?

Yes, the franchisees are required to take a few month training in HQ to learn about this franchise. Then, franchisees need to go to one of the outlets to learn the operation of franchise.

If you had to do it all over again, would you purchase a franchise in this system? Why or why not?

Yes, the franchisee will purchase franchise in this system. Franchise is a good business that you can get guided by franchisor to run your business.

Are you pleased with your investment in this franchise?

Yes.

Has the franchiser lived up to its promise?

Yes, everything is work as what the franchiser promise and the franchise running smooth.

What was your greatest disappointment after getting into this business?

The cost is too high even though it was still lower than other franchise brand like Chattime. Also, there are some limitation in their contract (franchisee doesn’t mentioned what is it).

How effective was the training you received in helping you run the franchise?

The training are effective as the franchisor provided the solutions for different problem the franchisee could face when running the franchise. It also allowed the franchisee to know the operation of the franchise so that the franchisees are more professional when running his/her own franchise.

What are your biggest challenges and problem?

Sometimes the franchisee encounter problem in running this franchise. Since the materials are imported from Taiwan, they have some problem with stock delivery when Taiwan was in stormy weather.

What is you franchise cash flow like?

The franchisee refuses to answer this question.

How much money are you making on your investment?

The franchisee refuses to answer this question.

What do you like most being a franchisee? Least?

Everything are guided by franchisor including support and assistant.

Is there a franchisee advisory council that represent franchisees?

No.

Knowing what you know would you buy this franchise again?

Yes.