Thomas Bekkelund sold everything he owned and moved to Sweden where he started a pizza restaurant with his wife. Last week everything turned around.
Thomas Bekkelund and his Russian wife have lived for many years with many thousands of kilometers between them. Only with short visits have they had the opportunity to spend time together.
Last year, they therefore found out that they would try to finally move together. Bekkelund comes from Stavanger and lived there, while his wife lived in Moscow, Russia.
– Did not see us back
But it did not work out with a stay in Norway for the wife. Therefore, the couple decided to try their luck in Sweden.
– It was a fantastic feeling to get in the car to Sweden. None of us looked back. We were just looking forward to finally moving in together, he says.
The couple sold everything they had in Norway and Russia before packing their things. In September, they were in place. The first period they spent just being together, finding a house and renovating.
But eventually the couple turned their attention to getting a job. Together they established a Swedish company with plans to start something themselves.
– To get a residence, you must also have an income, says Bekkelund.
Also read: The pizza baker can be sold for billions
Followed the pizza dream
The couple heard about an opportunity that could prove to be the perfect solution; to become a franchisee for Pizzabakeren in Sweden.
– It was completely coincidental. I did not even know that it was Pizzabakeren in Sweden, but I have always liked the pizza chain, he says.
On 13 August, the franchise agreement was signed and shortly after, the new cohabitants were installed in Jönköping with a home and a pizza restaurant.
– We have worked almost 15 hours every day since. After a few months, we topped the sales lists in Sweden, says Bekkelund.
Began to stutter
But this spring something happened. The restaurant operation had been in full swing, but a conflict arose with the franchisor, ie the Swedish branch of Pizzabakeren.
There were several things with the franchise operation that eventually made Bekkelund and his wife react.
– We went into a chain to get the benefits of being part of a well-known and large brand, but there are no benefits, it is so expensive for us, he says.
One of the things that Bekkelund sees as unreasonable is that they have had to use the suppliers Pizzabakeren cooperates with in Sweden.
– We would have received a much better purchase price if we had made agreements with local suppliers ourselves. I have calculated that we could save 50 percent, says the restaurant driver.
According to Bekkelund, they had to pay 200,000 kroner in deposits and in addition they had to pay down 200,000 kroner over the next 24 months, the last on top of the 10 percent in royalties that they also have to pay.
Would put in place a deal
To see if Pizzabakeren Sverige had complied with its part of the contract, Bekkelund contacted a lawyer. With the help of the lawyer, he received a letter in May with five questions they wanted answered.
– We just wanted to put in place an agreement so that all parties could benefit from it, at the same time as we built up Pizzabakeren as a brand to achieve the same success as in Norway, he says.
Bekkelund never got an answer, but he was instead called by Pizzabakeren Sverige, who asked him to get rid of the lawyer, otherwise he would disappear from the chain.
During this period there was a lot of communication back and forth. Bekkelund also sent a letter on behalf of several of the Swedish franchise drivers who were also dissatisfied with the framework conditions for the operation.
The pizza baker in Sweden has a slightly different view of the matter. See their answers later in the article.
Escalated
The conflict peaked last week. Then Bekkelund and his cohabitant were informed that your contract had been terminated.
On Wednesday morning, Bekkelund’s cohabitant had just opened the restaurant for the day. Then two of the management trooped up to the pizza restaurant and settled down. According to Bekkelund, they said they would hand over the message that the place should be closed down.
– She sent me a message that someone had come to the restaurant and supplied themselves with soft drinks and coffee without paying. I went there in a hurry and asked them to leave the place, he says.
Then it escalated. Bekkelund says one person then asked him to shut up and sit down.
– I replied that he was not my boss and that I would call the police if they did not leave the place, he explains.
Called the police
Bekkelund says that in front of several guests in the restaurant he is scolded and threatened.
– There is no sound at home and it provoked me. I simply became very angry, he says.
– Then I left the room and called the police. I felt that the discussion was so heated and was about to escalate further, says the restaurant driver.
Monica Bergström in the Eastern police region in Sweden confirms to Nettavisen that they moved out with a patrol after a report of a riot on Wednesday.
– We had a conversation about trouble in the center of Jönköping. There were people arguing with each other. The police got control of the situation, but the matter was not reported. There is also no suspicion of crime, says Bergström to Nettavisen.
Also read: Stein Erik Hagen buys pizza chain
– It’s damn good
Bekkelund says that they tried to stay open after the visit, but two hours after they had left, access to the cash register system and orders were cut.
– It’s damn good. We have worked so hard, we have spent so much money and energy on this, says Bekkelund.
Then the restaurant driver couple saw no other solution than to send the employees home and close.
Thursday morning Bekkelund got up as usual. He then stopped by a restaurant. then he discovered that something had happened since Wednesday. Overnight, someone had removed the “Pizza Baker” sign and taken it with them.
– I have not managed to take it inward. I feel completely empty. The worst thing has been to have the conversation with my employees. There are many who lose their jobs, and it bothers me a lot, he says.
Also read: The cheers on the roof at Olav Thon: – It was time
Rejects allegations
To Nettavisen, the chairman of the board of Pizzabakeren Invest Sverige, Han Erik Lewin, says that they do not recognize themselves in any of the allegations made by Bekkelund.
– We believe it is wrong that there are no benefits to being part of Pizzabakeren. That is Bekkelund’s interpretation. There are 17 others who think it is good, but it is up to each one to think what they want, says Lewin.
– It is also his opinion that franchise drivers must make use of supplier agreements that have higher prices than the market price. We believe there are many economies of scale and we believe we can prove it, he says.
The chairman of the board also says that it was difficult to have a dialogue when Bekkelund got a lawyer to review the contract.
– In the letter from his lawyer, he addresses these cases and he wanted a better agreement, and came up with a proposal he had signed. We do not understand why he hired a lawyer. We have had meetings with him, but he would not give up, says the chairman of the board.
– How has Bekkelund damaged the brand?
– In the way he has behaved, he has tried to create an internal uprising. He has contacted other franchise participants and promoted lies. For us, it is incomprehensible that he has done something like that, says Lewin.
Also read: Here are the cheap Norwegian diapers: – Reverse Harry trade
– Sad for both parties
The chairman of the board says that it was not the intention to dismiss Bekkelund when they traveled to Jönköping on Wednesday last week, but that they wanted to talk to him.
– We did not get hold of him. Therefore, we decided to go down. We wanted a solution and dialogue. We had good reason to dismiss him, but that was never the intention, he says.
Lewin says that Bekkelund did not want to talk to them when they came down, and therefore they saw no other solution than to terminate the agreement.
– We were thrown out when we got down there. He behaved unprofessionally and primitively. Bekkelund’s behavior is a serious and significant breach of contract and we have therefore, in consultation with our lawyers, decided to terminate the franchise agreement with immediate effect, he says and continues:
– We look at the case so that if he experiences that you have a problem, you sit down and have a dialogue. We think it’s very sad and we did not want this in any way. It is sad for both parties, says the chairman of the board.
Lewin confirms that they took down the signs the day after they visited, but says it was their right.
– It is true that the signs were removed. It says in our franchise agreement that we can remove all things that have to do with our brand, he says.
–
