ng the brand outside of its home market. “We want to expand the brand nationally, and ultimately we want to take the brand internationally,” said Karamalis. While the St Louis brand has sparked franchise interest in Adelaide, the chain is yet to get off the ground interstate. “We’ve had a little bit of interest in Adelaide, but not a lot interstate. Our focus now is to promote the model and brand outside of Adelaide,” he said. “We’re looking at several locations in Adelaide. The second store in Norwood will be franchised. There’s lot of interest in Adelaide, but it’s a matter of finding the right locations.” Ice cream is St Louis’ core product line, with between 50 and 60 types of different flavours, but it also offers desserts and cocktails. Late night trade makes up around 70 per cent to 80 per cent of St Louis’ turnover along Gouger St, with Karamalis keen to open stores that have strong evening trade. The idea of the business and its store design is based on similar ice cream offerings in France. “The inspiration came from an ice cream shop in the Isle of St Louis in Paris, which has been my favourite place for a really long time. “With our stores we’re trying to create a little bit of French flair, so when customers walk in they feel like they’re walking into a little piece of France. They’re beautifully designed stores, very elegant. We’ll be replicating the design for all of the stores we open.” Karamalis plans to open up to 10 stores in each state across Australia over the next three to five years. “We don’t want to flood the market and have one on every corner. Realistically, our vision is to have 10 in each state. “If we could open three to five a year I think then that is quite reachable.” This article first appeared in Inside Retail PREMIUM issue 1991.