Be ahead of times in pre-school biz
Aiming to be the best in industry, British Orchid Nursery is Middle East’s first nursery chain to be ISO Certified. In an interaction, Vandana Gandhi, Founder & Director British Orchid Nursery shares brand’s further expansion in the region.
Namita Bhagat (NB): Could you describe the concept of British Orchid Nursery (BON)?
Vandana Gandhi (VG): British Orchard Nursery was founded in 2006, in Dubai, UAE, with an aim of imparting quality childcare and world class pre-school education to the varied expatriate community of UAE. We follow the British National Curriculum, under OFSTED (UK governing body) guidelines. From the beginning, the brand was conceptualised to cater to the international and cosmopolitan population of UAE, which is a challenge in its own right. Quality assurance modules were put in place, and with a R&D team, we enhanced the curriculum into a 'thinking curriculum', linked to clear child assessment, thereby monitoring the teaching and learning at the pre -school. With an ethos of being the best in the industry, regular staff internal and external training on the UK curricular standards were imparted.
NB: What is the USP of this pre-school concept?
VG: We offer multimedia based teaching, use audio visual aids, toys and audio visual library, regular field trips/education tours, in-house special events, GymJuniorz gymnastics and dance classes etc. We have CCTV enabled, themed classrooms and round the clock security and intercom system. With high corporate governance, and enhanced importance given to the formulation of various policies and procedures, the focus being on health and safety of the children, we went on to qualify as the first nursery chain in the Middle East to be ISO 9001 2008 Quality Certified.
NB: Share your current presence? What expansion model have you adopted to extend the brand’s presence?
VG: Currently we have presence across the UAE. We have branches in Bur Dubai, Jumeira, Deira, Sharjah and Abu Dhabi. Franchising was the logical progress path we envisioned for our brand. The pre-school industry is highly regulated in the UAE, with regular inspections prior and during set up, from the various governing bodies. The regulatory guidelines do pose hurdles to franchising in the country. With strong in-house systems, and thorough knowledge of the market dynamics, we were the nursery of choice for the UAE Government and were awarded a prestigious contract to open our first corporate franchise, within the RTA building( Road and Transport authority, UAE government).
NB: Could you share the capital and area requirement to partner the brand in the region? Any further expansion plans for UAE/Gulf?
VG: Capital investment can start from USD 500000, depending on the location. Yes, we want to expand all over Middle East as we have already proven to be the market leaders in UAE and have a successful model.
NB: What all qualities do you look for in the prospective partners?
VG: Investor with business acumen, drive and liquid assets are invited to join us as franchisees and be part of BON success story. Our comprehensively developed franchise models, together with our extensive range of programs will give you everything you need to be the nursery school of choice in your region. We are looking for a diversity of partners to be part of our expanding network such as: Corporate companies, Professionals in the education and training business and Small and medium enterprises.
NB: What are the benefits extended to the prospective franchisee?
VG: Our partners can leverage our recognised brand name and proven business model, know-how and systems. They can be part of nursery education and training with minimum hurdle. We have a dedicated support team and also grant access rights to all program’s adhering to OFSTED guidelines developed under the franchise name. We offer technical know-how to all aspects of operating an institution and multi – level training, support for indoor/outdoor events including media coverage, setting up proper accounting and feedback systems and much more.
NB: The brand is seeking expansion in India. Tell us about this development?
VG: India is a vast country and there is a clear need to cater to the pre-school requirements of the new age parents, and rising population of working parents, who are looking for a quality set up for their young ones. There is a huge demand for quality institutions across the country, and hence we have looked into the feasibility of entering India via the master franchise route. The opportunity to provide an established international pre-school would benefit potential franchisees.
