Victorian bakery chain Ferguson Plarre’s Bakehouses has just unveiled its 75th store, a bakery in Kalkallo north of Melbourne.

New franchisee Nadine Yacoub has opened the milestone outlet, located in Kallo Town Centre.

Ferguson Plarre CEO Steve Plarre leads the fourth generation family business and said “We are looking
forward to having Nadine as part of our team and watch her hit the ground running in Kalkallo.”

As the heritage bakery chain hits the 75th store milestone, there are more stores planned for next year.

“We always have planned between five and 10 new stores each new year, but opening stores is a balance between interested franchisees and locations.

“We ensure franchisees are no more than 30 minutes from store locations, for a good work life balance, and to be involved in the local community.”

Ferguson Plarre, 75 stores now, 100+ the target

Plarre forecasts a long term footprint of 100 to 120 stores within two to three hour drive of Melbourne’s CBD.

Typically Ferguson Plarre outlets sit within shopping centres or on a retail strip. However Ferguson Plarre’s first drive-through store has proved a viable alternative and will help boost expansion across Victoria.

Plarre told Franchise Executives “Our one drive-through is one of our best performing stores, and this model expands our capacity to grow. It suits a regional profile, but there are plenty of locations in Melbourne’s outer suburbs as well,” he said.

“There’s such a level of excitement around drivethroughs, so it’s a very competitive market. We are planning a couple of drive-throughs, but these are a couple of years away. But I’d like to think that within five years drive-throughs might be an accelerating factor to growth,” he said.

• The brand’s Port Melbourne store has reopened after several months of closure for maintenance. The flagship Chadstone store is currently undergoing a refit, and will reopen at the end of the year.

This story was originally published on Franchise Executives.