Following a 29-year career with McDonald’s corporation, Al Pertuz was looking to be his own boss, independent and leave company politics behind. He was open to a variety of business opportunities. One day when he was out with his family in search of ice cream after dinner, they came up empty! There were no ice cream stores nearby. This to him presented the perfect business opportunity.

Franchisee Name: Alvaro Pertuz
Franchise Name: Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream
Location: Dallas, Texas

What attracted Al to Baskin-Robbins was the worldwide brand recognition. Currently Al owns 6 Baskin-Robbins locations in both Louisiana and Texas. His first location was opened during the recession in 2008. He believes, his discipline with his budget and hard work during the tough economy was the secret to his success.

Al’s 6 Baskin-Robbins franchises are a combination of new and resales. He does point out the benefit of buying a resale is being able to ‘hit the ground running!’ – With his purchase of his Dallas location, which was a resale, he says: “I signed the papers at 8 am and by 11 am I was up and running serving customers. The business already had cash flow and staff in place”. In addition Al did not have to tie up cash for months and with the business already having historic P&Ls, securing financing was easier.

The initial training provided by Baskin-Robbins runs over a four-week period, with one week being devoted to cakes alone. Training was comprehensive and provided him with the confidence he needed to operate his own store.

Al’s days are always busy starting with paperwork in the mornings, visiting stores, providing direction to staff and checking equipment. Like all retail businesses Al manages matching the right amount of staff to the fluctuation of business.

Al believes what gives him the edge in his franchises over the competition is ‘the high bar’ Baskin-Robbins sets on their quality – There is absolutely no compromise on the quality of the ice cream served in the stores. He says, “It’s the same now as it was 30 years ago”, even with rising costs and inflation.

Daily involvement in his franchises is the key to his success. After all he sees it as looking after his investment! His advice for anyone looking to buy a resale is to do their due diligence, check potential sales, location and of course identify the opportunities for future growth. A new owner can always find ways to improve on the existing business. Baskin-Robbins provides the system for best practices to go along with the best product. It’s up to the franchisee to work at it and do their best to make it a success.

Al is proud to boast a 40% increase in sales over a two-year period after buying his Dallas store on Greenville Avenue. He says: “I saw the opportunity in this good sized store. It is close to SMU and has good visibility. We extended the opening hours to suit customer demand, made sure all products were in stock from ice cream to a variety of toppings and with hard work, we turned it into a very successful store!”

There are more Baskin-Robbins stores in Al’s future. He is currently taking advantage of corporate incentives and about to open a new store in Shreveport to fly the BR flag.

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