In this video, Richard Leveille, the Executive VP of Franchise Development & Real Estate for Smoothie King, shares how the Buxton model uncovers:
Who Smoothie King guests are;
What life segments they fit in to, and;
Know how to put stores around them.
Today, Smoothie King has about 520 domestic stores and a little over a hundred international stores. Leveille's primary focus is on the development and the real estate side of business.
Leveille needs to ensure that the franchisee puts its store in the right trade area and the right physical location in that trade area.
For retailers and restaurant chains, there is certain limited data that is really available to help us make the right decisions.
SmoothieKing the ability to really analyze what's in the hearts and minds of the consumers in the area. Leveille can analyze hundreds of locations anytime, day or night.
Leveille admits that prior to Buxton, Smoothie King didn't really know who its guests were, their buying habits or what they liked.
But, after utilizing lifestyle segmentation, the company now knows which segments fit its customer base and which ones, on a priority scale, spend more money in stores. This information helps determine where to put Smoothie King stores and what trade areas to focus on.
According to Leveille, the most exciting thing about Buxton is that the people really understand what Smoothie King is looking for.
He now feels confident that Buxton had the tools, databases, delivery systems and SCOUT management system to provide what he needed to make a difference in the company.
