YellowKorner is a leading premium home lifestyle brand specialising in contemporary and fine art photographic prints. This international brand has had a phenomenal growth story, opening more than 135 galleries worldwide to date and with ambitious plans to expand further.
We recently invited YellowKorner business development manager Laura Elbaz to tell us more about this premium franchise brand and their plans for 2023.
Hi Laura, thanks for sharing your time with us. Can you please give us an overview of how 2022 went for you and YellowKorner’s plans as we move into 2023? We’d love to hear what you and your team are involved with and what is on the horizon!
Sure! 2022 was very exciting for us because a major investor called the Despature family came onboard. They have a long history in France dating back to the 19th Century with a substantial retail focus, owning famous brands including Damart and Somfy. They decided to branch out into home furnishings and homeware and YellowKorner were the first brand in this space that they decided to invest in.
Before they invested in us, we consistently opened around 30 galleries each year of all sizes in different towns and cities. Moving into 2023 we have a slightly different objective, aiming to open around 15 galleries per year and with specific focus on new markets in Western Europe, Italy, Spain, Germany, The Netherlands and the U.K.
We have opened a lot of galleries in France and due to our success, we have ambitions to develop the brand in other regions.There is a big opportunity to increase our footprint worldwide. With already 75 galleries abroad, we want to focus on new countries, in capital cities and to really work hard to raise brand awareness in those areas.
Can you please tell us about any special projects that you’re involved with that you think might be of interest to our readers?
We are always working with famous artists on limited edition photography and we are talking to some new exciting famous names who we will announce soon. As you might expect, I can’t talk too much about them just yet!
Since 2022 we began revenue sharing from all our online sales from within their own region.
Our marketing team is always working on material to improve our brand and increase our proposition as a premium brand. We have always had a high-end product but focusing on the premium end of the market will continue to be important to us as we develop our approach. The product is everything and so we are always developing our print processes, the size, quality and reflective qualities of the glass, the texture and options for frames etc; all the small details that make our product exceptional.
What qualities do you particularly value in prospective YellowKorner franchisees and what type of candidates are you searching for?
We are always searching for candidates with a retail background who love to sell to and interact directly with people. We love to work with partners who are well known in their local area with strong personal networks and who can build excellent relationships with their customer base.
Our franchise model means that we take care of everything else including logistics, internet sales, marketing, communications, transport, contracts, construction and architects for new locations. With all these aspects managed centrally in our team, that just leaves our franchisees to focus completely on the customer.
What advice would you give to prospective franchise candidates who are considering becoming a YellowKorner franchisee?
The ones that are most active in their region will be very successful. They must be passionate about retail and customers but a key area they can focus on is B2B opportunities. We sell a high-quality product and it is easy to sell if you can build contacts who are architects, hotels, restaurants, doctors, lawyers etc. If you focus on that part – your own network – then it will naturally be difficult to start with, but once you build that network then things become quicker, easier and very profitable.
We work closely with a range of premium franchise brands. Can you please tell us what you feel differentiates you from other companies? Is there anything you think makes YellowKorner especially attractive for franchisees?
I would say an especially attractive part of our franchise model is our consignment agreement. The stock belongs to YellowKorner and the franchisee only pays for it if they sell it.
The product itself is also a strong selling point. If you want to enter the art sector it can be expensive and difficult to do it alone. We are experts in sourcing and selecting limited edition art and sell a really high-end product. With a YellowKorner franchise you can own a real art gallery without having to have huge amounts of money, or to deeply understand art.
Our range is always fresh and exciting, because we have new photography entering the catalogue every few days. Our galleries receive regular small batch deliveries and we advise them to change their front window every two weeks to showcase these fresh new products.
With procurement looked after and a set of pre-selected potential bestsellers available, our franchisees can focus on selling the product and looking after their customers.
Another product we are scaling out is called Zeinberg, our in-store printing laboratory. This is an additional revenue stream for our Franchisees who can offer their clients the option to print top-quality versions of their own personal photos. This is much higher quality than elsewhere, giving people the chance to own framed prints of their family, friends, pets or holidays that we guarantee will be of art gallery quality and look fantastic in their home.
Thank you Laura, it’s been great to meet you!
Franchise Opportunities
FRANCHISEBIZ would love to help you on your own journey to becoming a franchise partner with YellowKorner. Our founders have worked for retail companies for over 25 years et like working with this unique brand having a attractive business model. YellowKorner galleries showcase collections from major contemporary artists and emerging talents in photography. They are looking for franchise partners to add to their already successful galleries in 30 global markets.
To arrange an informal chat with our team about YellowKorner franchise opportunities, please contact us today.
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