CASE STUDY : FRANCHISE
'A STRONG & SUCCESSFUL MANAGEMENT TEAM'
“Contacting Dale at the Department was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made and we’ve never looked back. Our business is growing all the time and she’s helped us develop a strong and successful management team. A team we’re very proud of and one that’s working with us to build our business”
Tracy Vardy
Co-Founder and Director, SIM TRAVA
STATS 2009
Employees 84
Turnover £3,500,000
STATS 2016
Employees 330
Turnover £10,100,000
SUCCESS STORY
Founded by husband and wife Simon and Tracy Vardy in 2004, Sim Trava is a franchise business operating over 20 Costa Coffee branches across the North of England and two branches of healthy Canadian fast-food chain, Pita Pit.
Despite ever-growing number of employees, they remain committed to the family business values the company was founded on over a decade ago by nurturing and developing their team to become customer-centric, passionate and happy colleagues who care about every single customer.
Dale first started coaching Tracy Vardy, an experienced HR professional, co-founder and director
of award-winning franchise business, Sim Trava, in 2009
When Tracy first began her bespoke coaching programme with Dale, the business she had set up with her husband, Simon, in 2004
was growing steadily; they were running and managing 9 stores, had employed 84 people across the North
and were enjoying a turnover in the region of £3.5 million
The business was doing well but Tracy was struggling to come to a decision as to whether or not she was ready to step into the business full-time. It was something Tracy wrestled with for some time; mainly due to changing her career, the financial risk
and becoming a business partner with her husband.
Dale encouraged and challenged Tracy to see things differently and her perspective shifted dramatically. With Dale's advice and guidance,
Tracy confidently jumped in with both feet and got involved in the business full-time and hasn't looked back.
As it stands today, Sim Trava has never looked healthier and the franchise business is continuing to grow
from strength to strength. Having just opened it's 26th store at the tail end of 2016, and with at least 6 more in the pipeline,
the business currently employs 330 people and boasts a turnover of 10.1 million.
"Tracy and Simon are a great couple tho play to each other's strengths. They know investing in their own development,
and that of their whole team, is essential to support their growth aspirations." says Dale, who has now been working closely
with the business for several of years in a number of areas. This has included leadership and management development,
1:1 coaching, train the trainer programmes and customer service. She has also helped advise and train key members
of the Sim Trava Training Academy which launched in 2016. Dale now sits on the Sim Trava Board
in an advisory capacity.
When Sim Trava won the Federation of Small Business' (FSB) Family Business of the Year Award last year,
in her acceptance speech at the presentation dinner, Tracy Vardy was confident and inspiring, prompting her proud husband Simon to say,
"Remember the shy new director you coached 7 years ago, Dale? Thanks for all your help over the years!"
For more information about Sim Trava, please visit www.simtrava.co.uk