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RECENT INTERVIEW WITH Russ Cooper
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View More Chester's International Franchise Information
 Russ Cooper
President
Chester's International, LLC
A sit down with Russ Cooper, President of Chester's International
Chester's International, LLC, licensor and franchisor of over 1700 Chester's fried chicken restaurants with more than $700 million in annual sales, continues to turn heads in the quick service restaurant (QSR) industry. Chester's is one of the five largest chicken restaurant franchises. Chester's offers high quality, great tasting chicken products.
To lead their aggressive transition from a distribution and licensing operation to a franchising program, Chester's hired Russ Cooper in spring of 2005, as President of Chester's International. Mr. Cooper brings more than 25 years of food and franchising industry experience. Under Mr. Cooper's leadership, Chester's is currently undergoing an aggressive campaign to expand its franchise units.
Chester's growth, extremely loyal customer base, and experienced leadership will keep Chester's among the top of the chicken QSR lists. Chester's 40 years of serving great tasting chicken to millions of customers has left a lasting impression on the QSR industry. To get a better idea of why the Chester's organization continues to add franchisees and impress the QSR industry, we asked Russ Cooper to give us some insight.
Q. Can you give us a brief overview of the Chester's organization?
Chester's International is one of the nation's largest chicken quick service restaurant (QSR) chains, offering consumers across the country great-tasting, fresh-fried chicken meals. Today, Chester's has more than 1,750 locations, in all 50 states serving millions of satisfied and loyal customers. Chester's is the fourth largest chain of fried chicken entrees in the United States one of the five largest chicken restaurant franchises and our franchising program will enable us to grow exponentially.
Q. Why did Chester's decide to franchise?
We had about 1,700 licensed restaurant locations when we decided to become a franchisor. As we grew and looked ahead to the future, we realized just how important it is to focus on the brand, the very special way in which our chicken is prepared, the recipes, the packaging and most importantly the customers' in-store experience. Chester's National Franchise Program commenced with the re-branding and new image for Chester's from Chester's Fried. Franchising will allow Chester's to develop in-line locations and expand beyond its restaurant-in-store heritage. Most significantly, franchising will allow Chester's to model its business around serving the customer who consumes our great tasting menu items. Under the licensing model the company focused on the manufacturing and distribution of its products. Now the business model will be centered around the customer and delivering great tasting chicken and side items.
Q. Tell us about the re-branding process
Chester's was re-branded in a variety of ways. The previous brand name was Chester Fried but the franchises operate under the name Chester's. This gives us greater control of the customer experience and the standardization of the menu items we offer. The Chester's logo was also redesigned with more blue and yellow; the old logo was primarily red and white. Besides adding in-line formats to our restaurant locations, our menu was enhanced in a number of ways. We added our signature sauces, Chester's Original, and Honey Mustard. One of our most popular menu items, chicken tenders was added and the breakfast program was enhanced with chicken tenders on biscuits. Our wedges, made from fried Idaho potatoes, were given added prominence due to their popularity. It all added up to an enhanced customer experience and a more attractive brand that drives our franchise program.
Q. Has Chester's generated more interest since the shift to franchising vs. licensing?
Chester's Franchise Program has attracted considerable interest and far more inquiries than the licensing program. We are now offering franchise opportunities to individuals as well as operators of stores who will open a Chester's restaurant within their business location. Our strategic partners who want to open a Chester's restaurant in their store will continue to be a significant part of our future growth, but now we have the added benefit of expanding with individuals who will open stand-alone franchised locations. In addition, Chester's National Franchise Program is prominently featured on Chester's new web site, other internet franchise opportunities web sites, in print media, and our in-store brochure at the locations promoting Chester's National Franchise Program.
Q. How has franchising accelerated Chester's growth?
Changing to a franchise model opens up many new opportunities for growth. We're now in a new channel of distribution for Chester's, such as neighborhood strip malls, multiple anchored power strip centers, and town centers. This customer is different from that of the convenience store or travel plaza, which have been our strongholds.
Q. What differentiates Chester's from other chicken QSR's?
There are two things that allow us to stand out from others. First and foremost, we've always used only the freshest chicken available, never frozen like others do and only top ingredients. One thing that's never changed though is the flavor profile of our breaded and fried chicken. Chester's original recipe tastes like no other fried chicken.
Chester's initial license programs started out primarily as a restaurant-within-a-store concept. With the launch of our franchise program, we're now expanding to stand alone locations in neighborhood and power strip shopping centers and malls with in-line QSR units. Chester's is the only franchise in the chicken category to adopt this strategy.
For the first time we're approaching individual entrepreneurs seeking a franchise and this opens many doors for us. Cost is an important factor for entrepreneurs seeking QSR franchise opportunities, and Chester's offers excellent value, with an outstanding return on investment. We feel we'll attract many entrepreneurs because Chester's is a better opportunity than most QSR's because we can open 5 or 6 Chester's compared to the costs to open one free standing concept that includes the land and the building. The small square footage needed for a Chester's location makes the Chester's franchise offering unique, and one of the most affordable franchise opportunities in the chicken category, a key differentiator. Chester's has a very attractive opportunity for return on investment that is greater than comparable fast food concepts.
In fact, Chester's dynamic and flexible layout is the perfect fit for many locations and offers considerable opportunities for co-branding with compatible franchise concepts. As a result, the Chester's franchise program enables entrepreneurs to take advantage of quicker set up times and broader distribution for consumers.
Q. Where do you see Chester's in 5 years?
It is easy to foresee Chester's opening 500 new franchised locations during the next five years. We're well positioned to achieve this goal, and I'm looking forward to meeting and helping all the qualified individual franchise operators who will be contributing and getting this done.
View More Chester's International Franchise Information
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