United he stands

New franchisee shows he's ready for fresh challenges

If a willingness to embrace change and to accept new challenges is a pre-requisite for success in the never-a-dull-moment world of petrol and convenience, then United Petroleum franchisee Surender Thimapuram is already well on his way to significant achievement.

In the last few months, the young entrepreneur has moved from country Victoria to an outer Melbourne suburb, changed stores, become a franchisee instead of simply a commission agent … oh, and he's become a father for the first time, as well.

And Surender is taking it all in his stride. With the possible exception of learning how to change nappies for his baby daughter, his biggest recent challenge has most certainly been coming to terms with the responsibility of being a fully fledged franchisee at his new store in Cranbourne South.

From commission agent to franchisee

"I used to be a Commission Agent at a store in Sale in country Victoria, which meant you had site control but not the security you have as a franchisee," he said. "Obviously, it is a big step. It is like buying a house, you are paying the mortgage and you have to keep paying the mortgage but hopefully in a few years' time house prices will have doubled."

The key difference in moving from a Commission Agent relationship to Franchisee with United is that Surender secures a long-term tenure of 15 years and will therefore take some ownership in the long term profit of his business. This is likely to have an emotional as well as a financial impact, enabling him to develop and to drive long-term strategy and planning.

"It is a big financial commitment but the rewards will hopefully be there, as well," said Surender. "I will certainly be working as hard as I possibly can to make a success of the venture."

Of course, since taking over at the busy United Petroleum outlet at the end of March, Surender and his business partner have been on a very steep learning curve. Although his previous store in Sale was physically a lot bigger than where he is now, it was nowhere near as busy ... and that suits Surender just fine.

"The more customers we get the more money I make and that is what it is all about," he said. "We are still learning about this store; about what sells and what doesn't and we will reflect that in our ordering."

The shop, which is open 24 hours a day is approximately 100-120 square metres in size and, on busy days like Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, serves some 600 customers a day. Currently, Surender and his partner are working the day shifts as they learn more about the way their business runs, while two employees are working the night shifts.

"There was a much different feel running a country store as opposed to a city store," said Surender. "In Sale you pretty much got the same customers every day, whereas here there are a lot more floating people … maybe half and half."

He has also noticed that, while still important, grocery sales do not make up as significant a proportion of his business as they did in Sale. Cool beverages and confectionery seem to do better in his new outer city location.

The Cranbourne South store is situated on a busy highway and is really the final possible stop for travellers from Melbourne heading out to Phillip Island. As the last place in Cranbourne before motorists hit the open highway, fuel sales are naturally very important for the outlet … Surender estimates them to account for more than 80% of business.

Café Up: enhanced fresh food

Also very important is the store's café area. The site boasts United Petroleum's 'Café Up' enhanced fresh food offering.

"We have a hot food area and sandwiches and things like chicken rolls that can be heated in the microwave," said Surender. "It is a really important and popular feature of the store."

No doubt Jodie Kliska, United Petroleum's National Franchise Manager, would be delighted to hear that.

"The 'Café Up' program which supports a more premium range of hot and cold foods helps in attracting more of the female customer," she said. "A number of our sites now also offer a fresh bean coffee and our frozen beverage (Chill Out), of which Cranbourne South is one."

It's all part of a wider initiative from United which is slowly changing the make-up of its outlets.

"United Petroleum as a business is also investing in some long-term retail initiatives, taking us from a traditional 'fuel-driven' business and more towards a convenience retail business," said Ms Kliska. "As franchisees with United make the largest slice of their profit from the shop, the long term strategies of United support and contribute towards increased franchisee profitability."

All sites belong to a national monthly promotional program with promotional case deals negotiated through the merchandise team at United Petroleum's Head Office in Melbourne. Franchisees are also offered ongoing support and training to enable them to maximise the potential of their stores.

And that's exactly what Surender intends to do in Cranbourne South.

"We know we are still learning here and we know the store will have a different feel again when summer comes," he said. "But we are excited and eager to work very hard and to make a success of things … we will see how things go here and perhaps we will be able to look at taking on another shop at some stage in the future."

It seems then that while Surender has already shown himself more than willing to take on new challenges, he's far from done yet. Watch this space!