Franchisee John Burns, owner of the LenardÕs Whitford store, has led his store to achieve a 93 percent increase in operating profits and a 14 percent increase in growth profits overall, after achieving a 5.7 per cent increase in sales in the 2008 calendar. For his efforts Burns has been awarded the Lenard’s Franchise Owner of the Year Award. “The Franchise Owner of the Year award is a great honour for us. We are very passionate about our business – so much so that we are about to start to build our second store. The next challenge will be to be able to run both stores with the same efficiency as our current one,” he said.

These awards are marked on guidelines including customer satisfaction, standards of operation, customer growth and items per docket.

Burns said his business success is due in part to him engaging in an intensive training course through LenardÕs management and staff training programs provided by the company’s support office, which delivered real change in the business. “Having the right skill sets in place with all staff and management to execute the LenardÕs system is critical. I now only work 15 to 20 hours in the store and spend the rest of the time working on the store and finding ways to save money and make more money,” Burns revealed.

LenardÕs founder and managing director, Lenard Poulter, said the awards provide franchisees with the opportunity to shine and demonstrate to their peers and the retailing community their commitment to excellence in retailing.

“We feel it is important to recognise and reward franchise owners where outstanding results have been achieved due to exceptional effort, as in the case of John and his business,” he said.

Previously an engineer with Ford, Burns picked Whitford as a high growth area and set about establishing a LenardÕs presence in 1999.

“A love of the product, a passion to keep business goals real and achievable, and a drive to always look for better ways of doing things in-store is how you make a business work,” he said. “We are fortunate LenardÕs has great brand recognition and a product which is easy to love.”

The support his business receives from LenardÕs national office and other franchisees is a huge advantage, he said. “There is always a great group of likeminded people who we can discuss ideas with and learn from. We regularly meet with a group of Franchise Owners to do just that, we call it the “North of the River Clan.” If you were in a stand alone business, you wouldnÕt have that support and it makes all the difference.”

For more information on owning a LenardÕs franchise visit www.lenards.com.au