Selection
Capital is necessary. It has never been sufficient.
We turn away well-funded applicants who are the wrong operator profile, and we have approved applicants who scored modestly on experience and exceptionally on fit. Here is the scorecard, in full, with the weights.
The weighted scorecard
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25%weight
Capital and financial soundness
Unencumbered own capital for the format you choose, plus a ringfenced reserve for six months of personal living expenses. Confirmed funding, with documentary proof. Clean credit and a current SARS status.
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20%weight
Business and leadership experience
A track record running a business, a team or a meaningful profit and loss account. Comfort with management accounts, KPIs, supplier negotiation and people management.
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15%weight
Operator profile — hands-on and full-time
You will be on the floor. Not in a corner office, not in another city, and not alongside your existing day job. A passive financial partner may be approved alongside an operator-franchisee, but never instead of one.
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15%weight
Cultural and brand fit
You believe in doing one thing exceptionally well, and you are comfortable saying no to categories that do not fit. You are coachable — every store runs the same playbook, and that is why it works.
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10%weight
Customer-service mindset
You understand that what happens inside the store is the brand. You will personally call every detractor in your first year of trading.
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10%weight
Local market knowledge
You know your town — the mechanics, the panelbeaters, the taxi associations, the motoring clubs, the fleets. You have a network you can activate in week one.
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5%weight
Personal integrity
Clean criminal and credit record. No history of fraud or dishonesty offences. References who will speak to your integrity.
The scorecard is a guide, not a calculator. The combined picture matters more than any single line. We have declined highly experienced corporate executives whose risk tolerance and patience were wrong for the realities of suburban retail, and approved first-time owners with unusually strong local networks.
What gets an application declined
Five things end an application on their own, whatever the rest of the file looks like.
- Treating the store as a side investment with a manager running it.
- Wanting to sell competing brands, or to run a parallel auto-parts business under the same roof.
- Negotiating the Operations Manual or the brand standards before signing.
- Only being able to demonstrate “access to” funds, or promises of family backing.
- Not being able to say why batteries, specifically, suit your town.
We would rather decline you on the first call than three months and a lender letter later.
What we owe you in return
Selection cuts both ways. You are entitled to interrogate us at least as hard as we interrogate you, and the statutory framework is built to let you do it.
- A Disclosure Document that complies with section 7(2) of the Consumer Protection Act and Regulation 3 — including our growth and financial standing, an auditor's or accounting officer's certificate, projections prepared on a reasonable basis, and a list of franchisees you may contact.
- At least fourteen days with that document before you are asked to sign anything.
- A ten-business-day cooling-off right after signature, exercisable by written notice, at no cost or penalty.
- A half-day at the Alberton flagship, where you may ask the staff anything without us in the room.
- Straight answers about territory. If a territory is non-exclusive, we will tell you it is non-exclusive, and you will see it in writing before you sign.
Ask us this, and ask every other franchisor the same. How many outlets are trading today, and how many have closed or been resold? Which channels does the franchisor reserve for itself, including online? Does the franchisor operate stores in competition with its franchisees? What exactly does the turnkey price exclude? What are the exit terms? If any franchisor will not answer those in writing, that is your answer.