Page 1 of 5 Association News Online Volume 2, Issue 2 February 2011 IN THIS ISSUE Spring Member Meeting Food Costs: How CSCS Works For You BRFA Chairman on the Hill ADVERTISERS Click logos to be directed to advertisers' websites. SPRING MEMBER MEETING This May marks the inaugural BRFA Spring Member Meeting in Indianapolis, IN and there are plenty of reasons for you to attend! Join us for: important presentations for growing your profits updates on critical issues a forum to voice your opinions an opportunity to connect with vendors and fellow franchisees AGENDA Thursday, May 19 1:00pm -4:30pm 4:30pm- 6:00pm 6:00pm - 7:30pm 7:30pm - 9:00pm Friday, May 20 7:30am - 9:00am 9:00am - 10:00am Registration Welcome & Keynote Session "Why We Need an Association" Ron Gardner, BRFA Legal Counsel Tom Cook, Taco Bell FRANMAC President Networking Cocktail Hour Located in the Exhibit Hall Association Dinner Breakfast / Exhibit Showcase Improving Profits & Operations SPRING MEETING LOCATION & REGISTRATION REGISTER Click Here to Register $159-2011 BRFA Members $259 - Non Members LOCATION Hyatt Regency Indianapolis One South Capitol Ave. Indianapolis, IN 46204 Reservations: 1-888-421-1442 Room Rate: $169/night++ Cut off Date: 4/18/2011 Reference BRFA when making your reservations to receive the discounted group rate!
Page 2 of 5 10:00am - 11:00am 11:00am - 12:00pm 12:00pm - 1:00pm 1:00pm - 2:00pm 2:00pm - 2:45pm 2:45pm - 3:45pm 3:45pm - 4:00pm 6:00pm - 9:00pm Break / Exhibit Showcase Panel Discussion on Hot Topics Lending Secrets: How to Pry Money from the Banker's Grip Thomas Tansi, Wells Fargo Lunch / Exhibit Showcase BRFA Membership Programs Rick Celio, BRFA Consultant What is My Franchise Worth? How to Value Your Business John Hamburger, Rest. Finance Monitor Conference Closing and a Look Forward to Pole Day Evening Event Saturday, May 21 Pole Day Qualifying Event A private suite at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Register early to secure your spot for this event! SPRING MEETING EXHIBITORS SPONSORS Ecolab (Silver) Lytle Signs, Inc (Silver) Wells Fargo (Silver) EXHIBITORS DelaGet DTT Surveillance Ecolab Fullerton Building System ITW Food Equipment Group Leavitt Group Lytle Signs, Inc National Restaurant Designers Old Seville Expense Reduction Wells Fargo Westec Intelligent Surveillance FEATURED ADVERTISER FOOD COSTS Are You Glad You Have a Coop Yet?
Page 3 of 5 Scott Womack, BRFA Chairman Taken from the January CSCS newsletter: "CSCS is forecasting a 3.6% increase in cost for food/supplies in 2011 versus 2010. (if you are running a 22% food cost, this would increase your food cost by 0.8%). And in Q1, increases could be as much as 5% over prior year as we are comparing against low costs of early 2010." Personally, I believe those estimates may be a bit conservative. They are certainly based on what we know, and in this decade, uncertainty is the norm. So, we could be looking at a hit to the bottom line of 1%. I encourage you to go back and read the January newsletter from CSCS. During our market meetings last fall, the statement "What's the Coop done for me? My prices keep going up." was heard repeatedly. Many franchisees have expressed a sense of "I'm giving up control of my food buying, but I'm not getting much in return". Here's my perspective: First, remember, I'm on the CSCS Board, and worked to see it founded. Prior to CSCS' formation, our buying was performed primarily by our distributors, with little audit or oversight. IHOP had a staff of 6 to 7 people, some trained in procurement, some not, but clearly too few resources and expertise for a system of our size. We also had a group of volunteer franchisees who worked on the larger items such as pork, soda, etc. Those guys clearly hit some home runs for us. But most of the control of pricing was in the hands of distributors, again, unaudited or supervised. So, some of us got to negotiate the distributor markup, but the distributor was setting the base price and freight cost. And for all practical purposes, no one was checking the books. CSCS has a staff of 45 trained procurement professionals, with the experience and systems already in place. In this type of inflationary market, prices are going to go up. I would much rather have passionate, trained professionals, who work for me, not a distributor or IHOP, tackling procurement for me. And frankly, I don't have the time to mess with it anymore. It seems to be human nature to shoot the messenger. CSCS has taken a lot of heat as prices go up. The Coop became operational right at the start of an inflationary cycle. I'm sure, to the CSCS staff, it seems like bad timing. But in my books, it was just in the nick of time for franchisees. So, the next time you see the CSCS staff, give 'em a hug. They need it. LEGISLATIVE UPDATE BRFA Chairman Tackles Legislative Issues Scott Womack has a passion for government affairs and his business. A combination of the two gives us the BRFA Chairman and a member of the US Chamber of Commerce; a
Page 4 of 5 person who spends the time and effort to ensure Congress is passing positive legislation for small business owners. In January, Womack had the privilege of testifying before the House Ways and Means Committee regarding the impact of PPACA (the Healthcare Reform Bill) on jobs. The hearing was arranged by the US Chamber of Commerce, and included the owner of a printing company and economist Douglas Holtz-Eakin. The Obama administration sent Austan Goolsbee, their top economic advisor, to speak in support of leaving the PPACA as it currently stands. Womack's message was simple: We can't pay for the insurance, and the penalties will be devastating to small business and the restaurant industry. He wasn't alone, as Committee Chairman, Womack (center) giving his testimony Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) commented that this type of hearing should have taken place before the bill was voted on last March. The hearing clearly had impact, and was covered by Fox News, the Washington Post and other major media outlets. A portion of the hearing can be viewed by following this link: http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/economicandr. A copy of the written testimony presented by Womack is available from the BRFA Central Office. Following his testimony, Womack was featured in the International Franchise Association (IFA) newsletter with an article about his efforts on the Hill; gaining momentum and exposure for the brand and small businesses alike. More recently, Womack was invited to be on a Fox Radio show, Klimeade & Friends, to continue further discussion about the health care legislation with Brian Klimeade. He reiterated his message that supplying health care for all employees is unaffordable and would put him, as well as other franchisees and small business owners, out of business. This type of political involvement is at the core of what BRFA is about; representing the franchisees' interests. Womack has put forth significant time and effort towards legislative issues that will benefit BRFA members, but he is not alone. Many of you have also met with your Congressmen at home and in Washington, and many have made calls and sent letters about the legislative issues facing your business. It is important to keep the momentum going, even after an election year, and for everyone to get involved, because ultimately, these legislations will affect all of our businesses. Forward email
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