Dream Doors

October 2014

New Dream Doors showroom opens in Wootton Bassett

Dream Doors North Wiltshire franchisee, Ian Sturton, opened his showroom in Wootton Basset last week. The Royal town's deputy mayor, Councillor Ian Ferries, and his wife, Judy, were there to cut the ribbon, while celebrated town crier, Owen Collier, was on hand to ring in the news. Dream Doors' founder and managing director, Troy Tappenden – who formed the kitchen makeover company in Hampshire back in 1999 – was the first to congratulate Ian, handing over a bottle of champagne to celebrate his brand's latest showroom opening.

“This is another very proud moment for me,” said Troy. “It's a fantastic showroom in a great location, and I know Ian will be one of our most successful franchisees. He knows what he's doing, has had a great start already and, with support from my team and his own staff, those sales will continue to flood in.”

It's taken Ian, already an experienced retailer, seven busy months to finally get his showroom ready for launch. And, if he follows a typical Dream Doors franchisee's growth path, his turnover will increase fourfold from now on. “We've averaged sales of £25,000 a month since we started, and everything has worked out very well,” he said. “We're well ahead of our business plan, with at least £60,000 of sales to come in. It's been great and, if I'm honest, it's been crazy at times as well!

“Luckily we found Darren who has come on board as an installation controller. He has huge experience in kitchens, whereas my background is in business and retail, so Darren makes sure we're delivering on all the promises we've made to our customers.”

Like most Dream Doors franchisees, Ian had no previous kitchen industry experience. Award-winning training is delivered from the outset, including peer-to-peer mentoring from existing franchisees. And Ian's franchise manager, Bryn Jones, was quick to praise him for embracing all of the support at his disposal: “Ian took full advantage of our training programme, making himself available from the turn of the year. By the time he completed his week's induction course at head office in February, he'd already had five visits from myself and Andy Hart, our company sales trainer. He'd also spent three days with existing franchisees in Oxford, Thatcham and Woking.

“It's been a pleasure working with Ian and seeing his business grow,” he added. “I'm happy to see another showroom open around here as, of course, that now means most of the consumer demand in the south is being satisfied.”

Dream Doors is recruiting new franchisees nationwide, and there are also some existing and profitable franchise resales available in Bath, Essex, East Sussex and Kent. Franchisees don't need any practical expertise as sub-contracted teams or employed fitters handle the installations. The company will be on stand L60 at the National Franchise Exhibition this Friday and Saturday to meet interested parties.

March 2014

Dream Doors Wins 7th Franchise Marketing Award

Dream Doors has won 'Best Online Marketing Campaign' in this year's Franchise Marketing Awards (FMAs). Shortlisted in three categories, this is the seventh trophy the kitchen facelift franchise has won in the last eight years. The company, a finalist for 'Best Website' and 'Best Franchisee Marketing Support' trophies as well, has notched up a record 24 nominations since the FMAs began back in 2006.

“If there was one award we felt we deserved the most, it was this one,” said Dream Doors founder and Managing Director, Troy Tappenden. “We've invested huge sums into online marketing in the last two years, which has helped our franchisees increase sales by 75%.

“Last year, sales from online enquiries accounted for 30% of franchisees' turnover – or £5million. This year it is running at 40%. And, of course, online marketing helps drive customers into our showrooms, and complements all other offline activities too.”

The FMAs, organised by Venture Marketing Group, recognise franchised brands that deliver both creative and innovative campaigns, and provide the highest standards of advertising and marketing support to their franchisees.

Adrian Goodsell, Head of Franchise Sales at Venture Marketing Group, said: “Congratulations to Dream Doors on winning this award. The winners in each category beat very strong competition to earn their trophy as the standard of the campaigns entered was extremely high.

“High quality marketing like this is a major reason why these franchised businesses and their franchisees are increasingly successful, even in the recent economic climate.”

With 50 franchised showrooms throughout the UK spread as far afield as Truro and Glasgow, Dream Doors is the UK's only national kitchen facelift retailer. The company specialises in kitchen makeovers – a time and money saving alternative to a full kitchen – and has been trading since the late 1990s. As a sales and management operation, franchisees don't require any kitchen industry experience; the top three Dream Doors franchisees last year – who collectively generated sales of more than two-and-a-half million pounds – came from the IT and education sectors, while one was an ex RAF officer.

March 2014

Dream Doors Makes Franchise Marketing Awards Finals for 8th Year Running

KITCHEN FACELIFT RETAILER SHORTLISTED IN THREE CATEGORIES

Dream Doors has reached the Franchise Marketing Awards finals (FMAs) for the eighth year in a row. Two years after winning the last of its six FMA trophies, the kitchen facelift retailer has been shortlisted for 'Best Website' and 'Best Online Marketing Campaign', as well as 'Best Franchisee Marketing Support', an award the company won three years ago.

Troy Tappenden, Founder and MD of Dream Doors

Founder and managing director, Troy Tappenden, who sold Dream Doors' first kitchen makeover 15 years ago, explains why he directs so much investment into marketing and franchisee support: “As a company, we don't earn anything unless a franchisee makes a sale. And, obviously, marketing is the first step in helping our franchisees win new customers,” he says. “That's why we've invested hundreds-of-thousands-of-pounds into marketing support and resources over the years.

“I'm pleased that our efforts have been recognised by the judges again this year, and will be hoping for another trophy this time round.”

Dream Doors reached the final in the 'Best Website' category after launching its new website late last year. The month after its release the company's 50 franchisees achieved record turnover with 50% of all leads coming from the new site. The 'Best Online Marketing Campaign' nomination comes off the back of a sustained online marketing activity – including the release of a bespoke iPad App – that has increased franchisees' sales from internet enquiries by 300% in two years.

'Best Franchisee Marketing Support' is an award Dream Doors won back in 2011. Since then, the company has fine-tuned its marketing support, doubling new franchisees' sales in their first six months of trading.

The awards are open for any franchised business to enter; previous winners have included prestigious brands such as McDonalds and Cash Converters. An independent panel of judges, made up of franchise industry and marketing professionals, picks the winners from each category. Those winners will be announced on Friday 14th March at the British and International Franchise Exhibition, Olympia, London.

Dream Doors will be on stand E120 at the exhibition, which is also open on Saturday 15th March from 10am.