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In today's edition:

Would you like a naked man with that burger?  You won't want to miss our Quick Shots news today which includes the story of an employee who took workplace hygeine to the extreme ... this has to be seen to be believed!

New Opportunities  We are pleased to bring you all the details of a brand new Inside Franchising opportunity ~ Human Rhythms ~ this unique corporate team building franchise is looking for franchisees now.  So if you like the idea of inspiring thousands and having a good time while you're at it, then this could be the franchise for you!  See our New Opportunities section below for more information.

Tasty treat We have some very tasty stories for you today which are absolutely guaranteed to make your mouth water!   All this and much more in today's edition ...

Join us again next time, when we will be bringing you a brand new opportunity, and all the latest from Inside Franchising.

Have a great weekend!

Gourmet donuts help "Big kids" rediscover a 'hole lot of fun !

Adults are being tempted to tantalise their tastebuds and rediscover their childhood love of donuts with Donut King unveiling a new “gourmet” donut range.

Recognising that adults are as much donut-lovers as children, but had more sophisticated tastes, Donut King has moved to address the gap in the market with its new Sensations donut range.

The result of eight months research and development, the Sensations range features donut flavours such as Blueberry & White Chocolate, Banana Custard & Caramel, Double Choc Marble, Cookies & Choc Mousse, Apple & Rhubarb Crumble, Strawberry & Cream, White Choc Marble and Vanilla Glazed.

Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania are the first Australian states to sample the Sensations range before the national launch in September.

The launch in each state is being supported by a radio advertising and sampling campaign developed by BCM.  The national launch will be supported by radio and television advertising.

Donut King Marketing Manager Tracey Catterall said the new donuts would help redefine the donut market by marrying more contemporary flavours with the traditional donut.

“The new Sensations range is designed specifically for mums and dads who enjoy donuts just as much, if not more, than their kids,” she said.

“The Sensations range has transformed the traditional donut by combining them with popular contemporary flavour combinations such as blueberry and white chocolate, strawberries and cream, cookies and choc mousse.

As Australia's largest specialty donut and coffee chain, Donut King operates more than 300 stores across Australia, employing over 4,600 staff and serving 30 million donuts to Australians every year.

The Donut King franchise network is owned and managed by ASX Listed Retail Food Group Limited (RFG), a leading Australian retail food brand manager and franchisor. RFG is the intellectual property owner and manager of the Donut King, bb’s cafe, Brumby’s Bakeries and Michel’s Patisseries franchise systems. 

Click here for more information about Donut King franchising opportunities

Since it’s formation in 2001, Human Rhythms have been using music and rhythm to inspire and motivate teams of people. Over 100,000 people around the world have experienced Human Rhythms at a conference, seminar, workshop or product launch.

Human Rhythms prides itself on being at the leading edge of the corporate team building industry. We have a truly unique product that, due to its non-verbal nature, is relevant to all cultures and all ages.

Today Human Rhythms has offices throughout Australia, NZ, Asia and South Africa. In 2007 Human Rhythms commenced franchising and the company has ambitious plans to expand throughout the world.

Once you understand our vision, we hope you will want to share in the excitement of being part of our inspiring team.

Human Rhythms prides itself on being at the leading edge of the corporate team building industry. We have a truly unique product that, due to its non-verbal nature, is relevant to all cultures and all ages. Our systems are leading edge, and our branding new and fresh.

As a Human Rhythms franchisee you will be on stage in front of thousands of people. You get to inspire others to achieve great things and in turn you reach beyond your own expectations … and this is your job.

Interested?  Click here for more information about Human Rhythms franchising opportunities

At present the NSW Supreme Court decision of Ketchell v Master of Education Service Pty Ltd [2007] NSWCA 161, has created uncertainty in the industry for both franchisors and franchisees. 

The NSW Full Court of the Supreme Court decision effectively states that a failure by a franchisor to comply strictly with the Franchising Code of Conduct’s mandatory requirements renders the whole of the franchise agreement unenforceable.

A franchisor must not enter into a franchise agreement without receiving from the franchisee, a written statement stating they have read and have had a reasonable opportunity to understand the Disclosure Document and the Code.

In Ketchell, this failure to comply with the Code when recruiting a franchisee meant that the franchisor was later unable to sue the franchisee for monies to it under the agreement. 

This is a powerful decision and is currently on appeal to the High Court. The appeal is being funded with the support of the Franchise Council of Australia and by many of the major franchisors in the country. As it stands, the decision is very harsh and in our view lacks a degree of commercial reality.

The decision effectively enables franchisee’s lawyers at present to hold franchisors to ransom over what would be otherwise classified as a technical failure, even where the breach of the Code has not actually caused any loss to the franchisee.  We are yet to see the outcome of the High Court appeal.

This article was compiled by Wisewoulds Lawyers.

Click here for more information

US giant, Burger King has (not surprisingly!) parted ways with an employee who was recorded taking a soapy bath in a sink in one of the chain's US restaurants.

The nearly four-minute video, which was posted Thursday on MySpace.com, shows the unidentified employee taking the bath to celebrate his birthday.

Click here for all of the details of this story  

"Employers need to mind their Ps and Qs when dealing with staff."  The comments come after the Federal Magistrate's Court this week fined a franchisor $12,000 for breaches of the Workplace Relations Act. 

Click here for more about this story

Muffin Break operator Jaclyn Connelly received one Victoria’s state's top honours in the 2008 ARA Retail Awards when she was named the 2008 VIC Young Retailer of the Year.  24 year old Jaclyn Connelly became the Muffin Break's Northland franchisee in 2006 at just 22 years of age.

ACCC NEWS

ACCC will not oppose Westpac Banking Corporation's proposed acquisition of St George Bank Limited

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has concluded that the proposed acquisition of St George by Westpac is unlikely to substantially lessen competition under section 50 of the Trade Practices Act 1974 in the markets in which they compete.

Click here for the full story

Interested in the latest news from the ACCC?

Click here to visit the ACCC News Centre.

Global cookie chain Mrs Fields continues to make inroads into the Australian market, setting up cookie counters in a number of Caltex service centres as part of their national expansion. The cookies will be baked daily onsite by operators and eventually Caltex franchisees, something which will differentiate them to other items on the service centre’s shelves.

"You better have low prices as an entry point, for when people are a little bit more pinched they still come to you; they still keep that loyalty to the brand. We've been very strong about keeping that."' said McDonald's second-in-command Ralph Alvarez in an interview with The Independent during his recent visit to New Zealand

Alvarez said fast-food retailers could not expect to compete solely on low prices because they would not make money in the current climate.

Click here for the full article

Franchising Event

NFC08 is the must attend event on the Australian franchising calendar. To be held at the Sydney Convention Centre, this year’s national convention promises to be the best ever, with over 700 people expected to attend.

NFC08 will begin with the Pre Convention specialist streams and culminate in the MYOB Excellence in Franchising awards gala, the peak recognition of Australian franchising excellence.

For the first time, an exclusive CEOs’ forum and franchisee forum will also be included. As always, the conference includes an extensive franchising trade exhibition.

Click here for more details

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*The content of all news items published in this newsletter are published in good faith and are reproduced from information provided by the individual companies or their agents, the subject of said news items. Inside Franchising Pty Ltd takes no responsibility whatsoever for information and content being true and correct.