Shefield Group is one of Canada’s pre-eminent franchisors, focused on building specialized franchised locations in regional centres across Canada.
Shefield Group is a privately held company and has been in business since 1976 with its first location opened in Prince George, British Columbia. The success of this store sparked the idea of franchising the concept. Since then, the company has evolved and now incorporates different brands.
Shefield Group is comprised of two main companies, Shefield & Sons-Tobacconists Inc. ("Shefield & Sons") and The Gourmet Cup Foods Ltd. ("Gourmet Cup").
Shefield & Sons has offered franchises in tobacco and related tobacco products since 1978, under the name Shefield & Sons® and in 2004 an expanded convenience store offering was added under the name Shefield Express®.
We have long-standing business relationships and connections with respected landlords in enclosed shopping malls and office towers and offer years of expertise to aid in finding prime locations and negotiating great leases for our franchisees. Unlike street front locations which involve long hours (in many cases 24 hours a day, 7 days a week) our locations provide realistic hours of operation so that our franchisees can operate a successful business and have a personal life.
We provide an initial training program to give our franchisees the practical knowledge they need for success. Training is completed on-site so that the franchisee is generating revenue while training.
All locations come equipped with our current POS system which offers a substantial competitive advantage. We have the expertise to assist franchisees in maintaining the appropriate products in their store and at the same time eliminating redundant merchandise. Constant attention and adjustments to product mix have a dramatic impact on inventory and provide for the effective use of franchisee’s working capital.
In addition to the POS system, our experienced IT team provides exceptional technical support to your business. We have experience resolving technical issues that may arise with the POS and the internal network. Our IT team can be contacted for support during our office hours.
Our Operations Managers make regular visits to each store to look at things like product mix, space optimization and category placement as part of a continuous process to maximize sales and gross profit margins. We share retail practices through field visits and monthly newsletters to ensure that franchisees are kept up to date with current retail trends and opportunities.
Attention to detail is what sets us apart from the crowd. We provide each store with a professional profile to ensure that consumers get a positive first impression when they enter each location. Anchor products are strategically positioned throughout the stores to generate effective use of traffic flow and to promote impulse buys which, in turn, lead to increased sales.
Shefield Group’s in-house marketing department provides each location with regular marketing and promotional initiatives which are created to encourage impulse buying and to promote seasonal products. Franchisees are supplied with new materials and screen shots for POS screens regularly in order to promote and project value to customers.
