Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue IV, 2012 | Page 46

R E C O N N E C T : Guillermo Perales
get things off the ground. There’s been no
letting off the gas since.
Throughout his years in franchising,
rapid growth has been a critical part of
Perales’s strategy. “With one you can fail
easily, but with several you can support the
network,” he says. Recently, his brand of
rapid growth has been remarkable by any
standard: nearly 170 units acquired in just
the past few months.
Perales has previously ventured out
of his core markets of Dallas, Orlando,
Houston, and Tampa but says that’s not
his style. “We can be more effective with
the operation when it’s all centralized,
and I like to keep it all close,” he says. He
points to the economies of scale this strategy creates in areas such as management,
marketing, HR, and training.
As busy as he is building his empire,

it’s not all business for Perales, who continues to be a big community player. He
co-founded the Latin America/DFW Fund
to raise money for Latino-based programs
and initiatives, and he has supported programs that encourage Latino students to
stay in school. And with nearly 400 franchise
locations, he provides job opportunities in
the communities where he does business.
Today those jobs number more than 10,000.
“Finding the right people, training, and
retaining them is always challenging,” he
says. “And different concepts have different
training demands, policies, and procedures.”
Next up for Perales is dozens—and
dozens—of remodels. There is a “new”
Burger King look, and his organization
has already remodeled four of its Dallas
locations and three in Florida. He says
about 80 more Burger King remodels are

ahead and then he’ll turn his attention to
revamping some of his Popeyes units. As
if all the remodeling weren’t enough, he’s
currently building two new Popeyes in
Oklahoma City, one in South Texas, and
three Burger Kings in Dallas. His newest
deal with Arby’s calls for him to build 15
more locations over the next five years.
Far from done building his organization and helping the communities he
serves, Perales continues to have an open
mind toward the future. “When you have
a proven track record as a franchisee,” he
says, “franchisors come looking for you.”
Whether it’s a conversion, a new build,
a refranchise, or a remodel, Perales has
the dedication, experience, and resources
to make it happen. And at almost 400
units and growing, he is one dominant
dominator.

BOTTOM LINE
Annual revenue: Over $400 million annually.
2013 goals: We will build around 15 new units next year. We will also
continue to do many remodels, probably 30 Burger King, 15 Popeyes, 4
Golden Corral, and 5 Arby’s remodels in 2013.
Growth meter: How do you measure your growth? This year
was huge for us with the Burger King and Arby’s deals. We set development
schedules. We like to develop our sites and own the property, that’s one way.
But we also buy existing franchises from others. So we measure our success
based on our development schedules.
Vision meter: Where do you want t