July 2013
| Business World Magazine | 233
Boston Pizza has established corporate bases
in Ontario, Montreal and Richmond. This
decentralization has helped principals main-
tain “a line of sight on all those stores,” says
Otto, adding that it also allows for enhanced
communication and rapid response as needs
or situations may dictate.
In 2011, Boston Pizza implemented a
multichannel development strategy which
gives franchisee candidates new options.
Traditional locations have encompassed up-
wards of 6,000 square-feet operating space.
This methodology allows for smaller loca-
tions strategically located in urban centers,
from 3,000 square-feet to fast, casual con-
cepts and counter services such as that re-
cently created within Southern Alberta’s In-
stitute of Technology.
Franchisees are also provided with
training and resources that cover all aspects
of operations and market function. Ser-
vices include construction assistance that
helps build sites, a real estate team that helps
choose best sites for operation in any re-
spective community, and a marketing team
with widespread success at drawing crowds
for planned openings. Franchisees undergo
eight weeks of training which includes six
weeks working within one of three corpo-
rately held locations.
The mindset that views the relation-
ship with franchisees as a partnership also
focuses on suppliers. For a company that has
existed for more than 50 years, Boston Pizza
has secured critical, long term relationships
and the scope of its market presence now
connotes to buying power when negotiat-
ing with vendors. Otto says franchise leaders
routinely engage suppliers during “innova-
tive sessions” which examine both current
and future needs. Much like the exchange
with franchisees, he says these sessions com-
