The quality mission of GFA is to continuously improve the customer experience at all its stores under each brand, worldwide. Every initiative at GFA - from corporate to store-level - is precisely aligned to deliver on that goal. To ensure that it is properly guided, GFA implements extensive, precise systems for collecting and collating customer satisfaction indices and preferences. The company continuously analyzes and responds to this information, making indicated changes that enhance the customer experience as are appropriate to each local market.

GFA focuses on building brands with universal appeal. The core of each brand is created so as to appeal to a broad range of customers from different cultures, backgrounds and age groups. The primary objective is to engage and satisfy customers by offering great-tasting products in attractive packages that include comfortable, clean and esthetically appealing store environments, excellent service from thoroughly knowledgeable and friendly staff, and an overall experience that represents outstanding value. In the company's experience, customers worldwide always recognize and appreciate a quality experience and seek these same common attributes. The main thrust of GFA's local adaptation efforts is to tailor products to the specific requirements of consumers in each market.

GFA has developed a comprehensive Quality Management System to manage its entire value chain, from its corporate offices to the stores. The system is fully compliant with ISO 9001-2000 standards and certified accordingly. The Company is very process oriented, and uses technology to manage information flows with accuracy and accountability. GFA strongly believes in setting up the right systems that define the interrelationships between people and departments within the organization. It effectively implements this by putting the right people in the right positions, clearly defining their scope of work and having everyone work as a team with a common objective to produce superior results. The system is also very focused on developing team members with 360 degree evaluations conducted twice a year to provide critical feedback necessary for each person to continuously improve.

GFA has built fully integrated capabilities to support its Franchise Partners worldwide. It has established its "Global Service Center" in Thailand where it has its own interior store design team, graphics team, photo and video production capabilities, a research and development department, global quality management, course development, an IT team, Finance, and a Training Academy. GFA also has a subsidiary construction company that builds its own stores as well as mobile counters that can be shipped to its Franchise Partners worldwide. The company also uses an extranet that manages with full accountability the support functions it provides to its partners worldwide.

GFA has successfully opened an ever-growing portfolio of stores that combine anywhere from 2 to 4 of its brands under one roof. These combination stores have the following advantages:

• Generate higher sales and profitability per sq/m.
• Increase the return on investment and lower the pay-back period.
• Provide more choices to consumers by combining complementary brands in the same space.
• Brands don't get diluted - each brand keeps its own identity in a food-court like environment.

See pictures of combination stores.

GFA is one of the very few franchisors worldwide that offers its partners the opportunity to franchise multiple brands under one agreement. The advantages for the Franchise Partner are as follows:

• The Partner gets the opportunity to operate multiple brands in their territory while getting all the support they need from a single Franchisor.
• It avoids the inherent conflicts of having different franchisors with differing goals. At the same time, it provides the Partner with the full ability to leverage the GFA brands by opening them as standalone stores or in combination with other GFA brands.
• The Partner lowers their category risk by offering multiple brands in their market, mitigating the competitive pressures or softening trends in one category and providing the Partner with the ability to place the highest potential brand in any given location.
• It offers the opportunity for higher profitability by spreading out the costs of one corporate structure to manage multiple brands.

GFA is very selective about its Franchise Partners as it wants to make sure each and every Partner is fully committed to building the brands they choose to develop in their market. In supporting a Partner, GFA focuses on ensuring that the operated stores meet the customer experience standards set by GFA, and that they are well managed financially, so as to create shareholder value for the partner. The goal is to satisfy customers and generate healthy financial returns in order to keep growing in each territory. When a partner grows they gain economies of scale, and build more value for their business by broadening their customer reach. In short, GFA's success is inextricably linked with that of its Partners. Only when our Partners succeed do we succeed. That's why we look hard to find the right Partners and then give them full support to maximize their success.

Find out what we look for in a potential Franchise Partner.

GFA aims to be a Franchisor of Choice and its entire business is built around that philosophy. GFA supports its International Corporate Offices the same way it supports a Franchise Partner. This allows GFA to test its systems with a view to improving them, experiment with solutions internally and then roll them out to Franchise Partners. Strong and comprehensive support is the fundamental basis of the systems GFA builds in-house. GFA also has back-of-house functions that can be hooked up to the Franchise Partner's operations in order to ensure quality and consistent execution at lower cost.

To support franchisees with the build out of their stores, GFA has its own construction company based in Bangkok. This enables the company to supply all the necessary counters, loose furniture and signage and ship them in containers to practically any destination in the world. In many cases, the modular components lower the construction costs and increase the return on investment for our Partners.