Size does matter.
And it can be strategic. Is bigger always better? Is smaller? In truth, both work 
but know which you are and act like it.
General Motors and Ford spent most of the 1900’s being and getting bigger. They focused on economies of scale and mass production. And they failed. Why? They forgot what they were trying to do and other people did it better. Mass production works for generic goods and we don’t complain much about intangibles if the price is right. Think Wal-Mart. Society gives them a pass on poor service because we don’t expect anything from them besides low price and a greeter and not much else.
Not so true with a car that isn’t the lowest possible price. If we are paying premium prices we expect premium quality and service. That is why the US luxury brands withered while BMW and Lexus and even Hyundai have thrived.
The same is true in almost any business. If you are going to go
big you have to act like it. If you make the strategic choice to be smaller, you need to act like it.
Small means less infrastructure but it doesn’t mean bad infrastructure. Small means lean and mean, not lean and angry. Small means lower investment but not squandered resources.
Small is a very viable business strategy. Creating a scarcity of your product can lead to a buzz and excitement you can never get to with big. In franchises, small can be a choice.
The three areas where a franchise company can generally choose to be small are number of stores, size of protected territory and size of stores. In Great Harvest we have pretty much made choices in all three that keep our system under control.
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We limit the number of stores we open each year to ensure that each one has the best possible owner with the best chance at success. We give exceptionally large protected trade areas to make sure that our growth rate doesn’t swallow up our existing base. We have made the choice, in general, to not have mega stores. The reason is to keep the investment made by our franchisees up front affordable.
In our mind, this is a healthy, conscious, relevant business strategy to maximize the quality of our brand. Do you want to be a part of our scarcity?
Thanks for reading.
