Sea Port Franchising Ltd, operator of the Hard Rock Café franchise in Malta, has been entrusted by Hard Rock International to establish the brand in Gibraltar, Slovenia and Tunisia.
The project, to be implemented over the next three years, will involve an investment of up to €3.5 million, according to Arthur Gauci, chief executive officer of the Seabank Group, of which Sea Port Franchising is a subsidiary. The franchise’s team will double to 240 in the process.
Hard Rock Café is present in 52 countries across three continents with just 165 venues. With the Tunisia venture, Sea Port Franchising will be responsible for the brand’s debut in Africa, although Hard Rock Café is present in Sharm El Sheikh, the Egyptian resort.
The award-winning Maltese franchisee has made somewhat of a name for itself on the Hard Rock circuit. It is extremely rare for the brand to sanction three presences in any destination, much less in a small country such as Malta. The franchise has repaid the trust and is among the brand’s very best performers, Mr Gauci said.
The franchise in Gibraltar, a 300-square metre Hard Rock Bar, will take shape towards the end of the year. Merchandise is expected to be the pivotal element of the business in the tiny British colony where all the major international names are present.
In Slovenia, Sea Port Franchising is examining two potential sites for its Ljubljana venue. The Hard Rock Café will be a fully fledged operation, with bar and merchandise areas, and is earmarked for opening next year. The Tunisia venture, to be located in the capital Tunis or in a major town, possibly Hammamet, will be completed in 2013.
Key staff from Malta is to be roped in to these new projects and the core team will be prepared at Hard Rock overseas venues which double as training centres. Franchisees also benefit from extensive hand-holding from Hard Rock International.
“We have worked very hard to promote the brand’s values in Malta,” Mr Gauci said. “It has been so successful here because of how and where we have positioned it. Besides, as a company we get the simple things right within every aspect of the operation.”
Hard Rock president Hamish Dodds publicly voiced his admiration for the Malta company in 2007 when it was named Best Franchise Café of that year.
Mr Gauci recalled that at the ceremony Mr Dodds had said he was impressed by a country of 400,000 people which had positioned the business so well and maximised opportunities.
Sea Port Franchising invited Mr Dodds to Malta during the annual franchise leadership conference in Orlando last January. He made the trip in June, flying out from London after presenting six franchise and six company-owned cafés with Top of the Rock awards for the best performers of the month. The Hard Rock Bar at Valletta Waterfront was among the winners; it was the third time an operation within the Malta franchise had scooped the award.
“Hard Rock International holds our operation in high esteem because we perform,” Mr Gauci explained. “Malta’s Hard Rock franchise registered double digit growth between 2009 and 2010. Mr Dodds first suggested we handle a new franchise in Gibraltar, then Slovenia, then Tunisia. The project we have been entrusted with is particularly significant because Hard Rock Café is an extremely selective brand.”
Hard Rock Café is among the four best known brands in the world and is growing fastest in Europe and the Middle East. The café concept remains at the core of its offering although the brand has ventured into the hotel business with a total of 14 properties to date. That number is to double over the next five years.
Efforts to bring the brand to Malta began in 1996 and the franchise agreement was signed in 2000 paving the way for the opening of the Hard Rock Café at Bay Street in St Julian’s. In 2003, a nine-square metre merchandise-only presence was opened at Malta International Airport’s departures lounge. It evolved into a Hard Rock Bar the following year.
In 2005, Mr Dodds came to Malta on a flying visit and Sea Port Franchising lived up to its name by launching a charm offensive from the Grand Harbour. Soon after his arrival on the island, Mr Dodds boarded a yacht and was taken to view Valletta Waterfront – where the Malta company was hoping he would share its enthusiasm for establishing another Hard Rock presence on the island. The Hard Rock Bar opened a year later.