Greg Lamm of the Puget Sound Business Journal looks at Tully’s new plan for expansion and quotes my analysis of the situation.
Franchising makes good business sense for Tully’s because it spreads the risk to the franchisee, said Andrew Hetzel, a specialty coffee industry consultant and blogger based in Hawaii.
But Hetzel said he wonders if Tully’s plan to scale up more will spell success. Specialty coffee shops are seeing an explosion of business despite the recession, he said, but those faring the best are smaller businesses with a dozen or so cafes. It’s difficult to maintain the specialty coffeehouse feel with hundreds of stores.
“They become less of a coffee company and more of a quick-service restaurant,” said Hetzel, adding that coffee aficionados in Seattle and other cities have plenty of small specialty alternatives to Starbucks and Tully’s.
Read the article Tully’s new blend: add stores