Freshstop expands convenience footprint

The 44th Freshstop store in Khayelitsha.

"We have opened 50 stores in less than two years, a feat not achieved by our competitors. Our solid partnership with Chevron, competitive pricing and flexible franchise model has helped us grow from strength to strength," said Brian Coppin, co-founder and managing director of Freshstop.

Freshstop launched its partnership with Chevron SA early in 2009 and as a 24-hour convenience store brand it offers consumers essential groceries by ensuring that a significant percentage of each of the in-store floor space is dedicated to fresh produce.

"Through this particular partnership, we've stepped up to the plate and executed strongly against a strategy that recognises that we excel in the arena of unsurpassed fuels technology and crude to customer supply chain management, but its best to have our convenience stores in the capable hands of the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) experts.

"By partnering with this local visionary and extraordinary team of entrepreneurs, we've turned the South African c-store environment around and are simultaneously delivering our customers with cleaner engines, improved service and healthier hearts," said Teresa Booth-Oliveira, general manager of Caltex Products.

In the two years since the inception of the brand, Freshstop has evolved into a c-store model that is both successful in townships like Khayelitsha and an urban area such as Cape Town's V&A Waterfront.

Freshstop will be opening its 50th forecourt store in association with Caltex in Windermere, Durban, on Wednesday 15 June 2011.

Key to the growth of the Freshstop brand is the return on investment franchisees can expect, though store to store figures differ, Freshstop sales have shown a 30% increase with franchisees able to recoup conversion cost within a two-year period.