With a rapid growing food and beverage industry spreading wide and far across the Kingdom, local brands are taking action on expansion. Over the last decade, Park Café has made its mark with a full menu of different tastes and beverages, while providing an enjoyable environment to relax or conduct business. Currently with seven local branches, the founder is ready to sell franchise rights to welcome other entrepreneurs looking to cash in on demand. With interested buyers and a solid proven business plan, Park Café expects to soon have 10 local branches.
Heng Sengly, general manager of Park Café, said 2016 will be a robust year for expansion, while the company prepares the distribution of franchise rights.
“In order to sell the franchise, we, as a company, must have three principles,” he said. “First, our brand has to be strong, well-known, trusted, and enjoyed by the consumers. Second, our human resource has to be highly qualified in management and our products have to maintain a high standard. Third, we have to produce internal documents, technical documents and marketing documents.”
After elaborating on the complexity of forming local franchise, Sengly stood up and rifled through a pile of documents, saying that each one meticulously explains daily business operations.
In addition to the three principles, Sengly said there are other conditions that a franchise must abide by, such as the company’s Standard Operating Procedure to ensure the brand name lives up to its title.
The history of Park Café is one of young entrepreneurs taking risks while employing best practices. The first branch was opened in 2004 near the Parkway building along Mao Tse Tung Boulevard. Kuy Vat was there as one of the founders and, through his leadership, has led Park Café to its success ever since.
“Park Café’s F&B service is not only about profiting from the consumers, but we want our consumers to enjoy high-quality and healthy dishes and beverages, as well as providing a pleasant environment for meetings and appointments,” he said.
At that time, he said, “Park Café was a new concept” to the F&B industry.
Once Vat realized that a majority of Cambodians desire to run their own businesses, similarly to the founding vision, he hopes to share his business model with other entrepreneurs.
However, according to Sengly, the idea of selling franchises has been in the works for some time.
“Our company had planned to sell Park’s Café franchises years ago, but we were waiting for the right moment. These last three years, our company has paid more attention to the business model more than ever before,” he said.
“There are two prices for Park Café’s franchise; the first is the Standard Option that costs $30,000, and the second is the Full Option that costs $50,000 – both for seven years,” he explained.
“This is a very reasonable amount, considering the business comes with trained supervisors and all types of operational support, from decorating the restaurant to training the cooks and beverage servers, while also advising on business management and advertising strategies,” he said.
“This ensures that franchise buyers carry on the legacy, and make sure that all the products used in their cafes are 100 per cent sourced from Park Café,” Sengly said, and added that a few entrepreneurs have already shown interest.
Sengly said they are not only aiming to sell to individuals or groups who can afford to pay the franchise fee, but that the company retains the rights to choose customers or partners who have prior knowledge and can show a proven commitment to the F&B industry.
