6°c Overcast
9°c Cloudy with showers
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
A dragon nudges Frogbox forward
Boston Pizza guru aids new city franchise
WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Enlarge Image
From right: Harry Ethans, Dave Owen, Salin Guttormsson, CBC Dragons' Den dragon Jim Treliving, and Chris Pennycook.
THE tall, weathered man in dress blue jeans and smart loafers sitting in the lobby of a downtown hotel looked like he could be a retired sports star.
But a young child with her father in tow knew exactly who he was.
Jim Treliving is the "nice dragon" on the CBC television show Dragons' Den. When asked, he happily agreed to have the father take his picture with the young girl.
With the popular reality show about to start broadcasting its sixth season, Treliving has agreed to invest in more companies than he can remember.
He was in Winnipeg to take part in Monday's Boston Pizza Jonathan Toews FORE Kids Golf Classic that raises money for the Children's Rehabilitation Foundation.
It also coincided with the launch of the Winnipeg franchise of Frogbox, one of the companies Treliving now has a stake in from the Dragons' Den experience. Winnipeg has the 16th franchise of the eco-friendly moving box company.
He is famous for Dragons' Den, but Treliving, 69, made his fortune from the success of Boston Pizza where he is the founder, chairman and still one of its largest shareholders.
Treliving grew up in Virden before moving to Regina where he become an RCMP officer. He ate in the original Boston Pizza restaurant in Edmonton in the mid-60s and by the end of that decade he quit the RCMP and became a franchisee.
In 1983, he bought the then 44-restaurant chain. Today, there are 346 locations in Canada, 54 in the United States and three in Mexico.
He is based in Dallas and focused on the restaurant chain's U.S. expansion, with six to eight new locations per year.
It's his expertise in marketing Boston Pizza franchises that is particularly valuable as an owner of Frogbox.
The concept is simple. Frogbox rents reusable plastic boxes delivered to the door and picked up when the move is over.
While it may not sound like it has the potential for triple-digit returns like some Internet businesses, the word is Frogbox could be a winner.
"When I looked at the numbers, I was shocked," Treliving said. "This really is a high margin business."
Partners in the Winnipeg franchise are Dave Owen, who will run the business, real estate agent Chris Pennycook and businessman Harry Ethans.
Owen said more and more people are willing to pay a fee -- $79 for 25 boxes for one week -- for the convenience and the eco-friendly aspect of having reusable boxes dropped off and picked up at the door.
"The costs are comparable to the purchase of new cardboard boxes," Owen said.
It is also a pleasant alternative to the classic runaround of scavenging for used boxes and then struggling with their awkward sizes and questionable integrity.
Started in Vancouver in 2008, the Frogbox franchises have been selling well since the Dragons' Den show.
Treliving said the business is low risk and has good returns.
But he said the secret to his style of investing is being comfortable with the people involved.
He was impressed with Doug Burgoyne, Frogbox's founder, and was happy to learn that its Winnipeg franchisees are close friends and associates with Treliving's Boston Pizza franchise owners in Winnipeg, Richard and Kim Enright.
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 12, 2011 B4
More Business
- Back to Top
- Return to Business
Poll
Proudly brought to you by:
Most Popular Business
- CP Rail customers looking at alternatives on Day 2 of Teamsters strike
- Manitoba gets first female land surveyor
- Canadian dollar loses more ground amid eurozone uncertainty, rising commodities
- Jets boost TSN Radio, CJOB takes hit
- DBRS says Canadians can withstand housing downturn, but debt a concern
- Business Watch
- Tempers flare on CP picket line on McPhillips Street
- Jobs matchmaker gets funding to expand
- Catalyst Paper says it did not get enough approval for restructuring plan
- Shoppers Drug Mart signs agreement to buy pharmacies from Paragon
- Manitoba gets first female land surveyor
- Big week for Facebook's Zuckerberg: From IPO opening bells to wedding bells
- Tempers flare on CP picket line on McPhillips Street
- CP boss tossed off train
- Committee pitches 9-6 Sunday shopping
- Investment fraudster gets 10 years
- Canadian Pacific workers give 72 hour strike notice as negotiations continue
- Cost of living goes up in Manitoba
- New crepe eatery to be unveiled for Esplanade
- Manitoba Movers
- Boston Pizza franchise mushrooming locally
- Hecla resort finally gets offer
- Manitoba gets first female land surveyor
- Major CWB layoffs underway
- Big week for Facebook's Zuckerberg: From IPO opening bells to wedding bells
- WestJet eyes new routes, seat plans
- No such thing as a bad job, Flaherty tells picky unemployed workers
- Canadian credit card system of fees 'perverse,' raises prices: Competition Bureau
- What happens if Greece leaves the euro zone?
- Ford's outbursts tarnishing Toronto's image, experts warn in wake of latest feud
- Shoppers Drug Mart signs agreement to buy pharmacies from Paragon
- Germany aims for stronger grip on switchover from nuclear to renewable energy
- CRTC awards licence for new Calgary FM radio station, The PEAK
- New Flyer eyes overseas markets
- IRS tightens grip on snowbirds, ex-pats in Canada
- Death triggers major tax issues
- Manitoba gets first female land surveyor
- Jets boost TSN Radio, CJOB takes hit
- IKEA hires Winnipeg manager
- Starwood Hotels & Resorts 1st-quarter profit more than quadruples; revenue up 32 per cent
- Shoppers Drug Mart signs agreement to buy pharmacies from Paragon
- Snowbirds, Americans living in Canada read on...
- Avoid merger mess Include HR professionals in preparing for change
- Manitoba gets first female land surveyor
- Women honoured at awards dinner
- Long haul 'family' Every employee is a spoke in the wheel at Bison Transport
- Catalyst Paper says it did not get enough approval for restructuring plan
- Walmart Canada to slash prices further to take on discount competition
- CP boss tossed off train
- No housing bubble to burst: expert
- Loss is New Flyer's gain
- Empty inside
- Major CWB layoffs underway
- Shoppers Drug Mart signs agreement to buy pharmacies from Paragon
- Snowbirds, Americans living in Canada read on...
- James E. Marker, inventor of Cheezies, dies in Belleville, Ont., at age 90
- Pershing Square gaining ground in Canadian Pacific proxy battle, poll suggests
- Hecla resort finally gets offer
- Avoid merger mess Include HR professionals in preparing for change
- Manitoba gets first female land surveyor
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.