9 / 10
August-September 2014 | BusinessWorld | 8
that to their proprietors.”
Dual mall-located units featuring both
businesses will be a reality in the relatively
near future, Rothenstein said, thanks to the
relatively small physical footprint needed to
produce bothproducts.
The first joint location, though, will more
than likely be at the Dippin' Dots corporate
store outlet in Paducah, Ky. Several existing
owners on both the Dippin' Dots and Doc
Popcorn sides have expressed interest in
owning franchises of the other business as
well, so Rothenstein is working on updates
to the franchise agreements and other
paperwork to sati sf y myriad state
regulatory requirements.
“Once that's done, we will have an offering
in there that will talk about the opportunity
for one brand to bring in the other,” he said.
“We're going through a couple of different
ideas and we want to make sure we provide
value, not only for our franchisees but also
for our ownership group. There will be
some exciting opportunities, but the exact
nature of those are tobe determined.”
A “sustainable, but smart” growth rate –
meaning an addition of 10 to 15 new
franchise partners annually – is at the top of
the corporate priority list going forward,
while the projections for growthon theDoc
Popcorn side are slightly loftier because of
its comparative newness as anoperation.
Also on the agenda is a continued search, by
the Fischer Enterprises ownership group,
for acquisition opportunities with both
related, as was the case with Doc Popcorn's,
andunrelatedproduct offerings.
“I understand the power of bringing the
right folks on for the right opportunities, so
I grow in that manner,” Rothenstein said.
“For sure, this was not their last
acquisition.”