Focus Brands sees potential in international growth

Ramping up growth at Auntie Anne's

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Are some markets harder to break into than others?

These bigger markets, like China, Russia or Brazil, take a lot more preparatory work than going in to a small market, like Ecuador, for example. The magnitude and complexities of these markets are just huge.

Which of your brands will expand the most in 2013?

Historically, it has always been Cinnabon. Cinnabon and Auntie Anne’s will still be our fastest growth brands. This year it’s possible that Cinnabon could be replaced by Auntie Anne’s in terms of overall international growth.

Auntie Anne’s is going in to their eighth year of positive same-store sales growth. That’s also a good point for us internationally because it’s a hard business; it’s just pretzels. Cinnabon is a great little brand that punches way, way above its weight.

Why is that?

Cinnabon, in a lot of markets, has reached a point of saturation, so growth may be slower. With Auntie Anne’s we’re getting into a lot of new markets, and we want to expand in them.

What are some of the biggest challenges Focus Brands will face in 2013?

There’s still a lot of drag on the global economy in general. There’s slow growth in the economy in the U.S., and there’s still a lot of fixing yet to be done in Europe. I think that’s a big issue we’ll all have to face. I don’t see a lot of recovery in 2013 or 2014.

There are also some unique issues. It has settled some, but the Arab Spring in the Middle East is still there. It’s making a more difficult investment market there. Commodities are also always a bit of a wildcard, too.

What are some of Focus Brands’ strengths going into 2013?

If you look at us globally, I think we’ve just done some really great positioning of our brands. Without exception, all of our brands will probably have the strongest growth year that they’ve ever had, or that they’ve had in a very long time, this year. The economy has been difficult, but we’ve done a lot to enhance the business model.

Contact Erin Dostal at erin.dostal@penton.com.
Follow her on Twitter: @ErinDostal