The next-generation owners of Australia’s Bakers Delight bakery franchise business are planning to further expand overseas and target a younger demographic,
The Australian
reported.
Roger and Lesley Gillespie, who had run the AUD 700 million ($525 million) business for 37 years, passed it on to daughter Elise Gillespie, 35, and son-in-law Dave Christie, 34, earlier this year. Roger remains chairman of the family board and Leslie is still a director. Michael Andrew, former KPMG global chairman and now chairman of the Board of Taxation, chairs the family council, the article said.
There are 710 Bakers Delight stores: 589 in Australia, 93 in Canada, 27 in New Zealand and one in the U.S. (in Stamford, Conn.), the article said. Of the 589 Australian stores, 430 are operated by franchisees, according to the report.
The Canadian business, which has operated since 2003, trades under the COBS Bread brand name and is run by Elise Gillespie’s brother Aaron. Elise Gillespie and Dave Christie worked with the Canadian operation for nine years before returning to Australia in 2012, the article said.
Christie told
The Australian
that the Canadian business “could be the biggest part of our business in the next 10 to 15 years.”
Elise Gillespie told
The Australian
that late last year the family received an offer for the business. “[W]e decided we don’t want anyone else to own it,” she said. “We think there is great growth in Australia and abroad.”
Three Gillespie family trusts own Baker’s Delight Holdings. Several years ago, the family bought a 20% stake held by external shareholders, the article said. (Source:
The Australian
, May 1, 2017.)
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