This newsletter brings you a selection of news and views intended to make the leap of faith towards becoming a franchisee just a little bit easier for you. We hope you enjoy it, and, as always, look forward to your feedback.
The Franchise & Business Opportunities Expo takes place from 7-9 September 2007 at Gallagher Estate in Midrand. Now in its 15th year, this expo presents a large number of business opportunities as well as seminars on franchising. Some franchise companies will also exhibit. The previous edition of this newsletter carried tips on how to get the best results from visiting a trade expo. Should you have missed the article, you can access it on www.whichfranchise.co.za – go to the newsletter archive.
Franchising continues to be seen as the domain of fast food outlets but while this perception had some merit once, it is totally outdated. While food establishments continue to form an important sector, franchise opportunities are now available in fields as diverse as education and training, home repairs, business-to-business services and a host of other sectors.
Introducing the Hole in the Wall franchise
Hole in the Wall is an excellent example of the variety of sound franchise opportunities that are now available. The company has developed a process that enables homeowners to create openings in the walls of their homes with a minimum of fuss. This is useful, for example, for the installation of additional windows and doors, a process that used to be noisy, dusty and generally highly disruptive. Using Hole in the Wall’s patented process, the job can be carried out much quicker and cleaner, and without significant interruption to household activities. The company is offering franchises to hands-on operators who are keen to build a solid business and prepared to embrace the company’s values, methods and procedures.
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In the not so recent past, most companies set very rigid standards for new franchisees. Most were interested only in full-time operators prepared to focus exclusively on one unit of the franchise and operate it hands-on. If overseas trends are anything to go by, however, then this is rapidly changing.
A growing number of franchisors allow their franchisees to operate more than one unit. Some are even content if the franchisee becomes involved in other businesses, including competing brands. Other franchisors go out of their way to attract women as franchisees by offering them flexible operating structures. Some of these new generation franchises are home-based while others can be operated part-time. This means that franchisors now leave it up to their franchisees to decide how they want to structure their working hours, and how much money they want to make as a result.
It is official: a franchise is the best point of entry to entrepreneurship! Established franchisees agree that being part of a reputable network beats total independence hands-down. Research showed that 94% of franchisees were happy with their lot and rated their businesses either “highly successful” or “successful”. Read more…
Spur is one of South Africa’s most popular sit-down restaurants, operating throughout the country, and abroad, mostly through franchisees. And the formula works! The recent slow-down of the economy notwithstanding, Spur continues to generate record results. The network operates a total of 334 restaurants which operate under the Spur Steak Ranches, Panarottis Pizza Pasta and John Dory’s Fish and Grill brands. Read more…
Chicken Licken plans to list on the JSE in about 15 months time. Founder and managing director George Sombonos also said that plans are in place to achieve annual sales of R1billion by 2010. This will be achieved through a combination of establishing new stores in areas that are not serviced yet, and improving throughput at existing stores. It also means the availability of exciting opportunities for would-be entrepreneurs who have what it takes.
A recent ranking of the world’s top brands by Interbrand saw McDonald’s placed 8th out of a total of 100 rated companies, and the top franchise chain. This is rather interesting because just a few short years ago, McDonald’s stood accused of “poisoning” its customers, especially the American youth, by encouraging them to over-indulge. At that time, the accusation even formed the basis for a series of high profile court cases which were brought by individuals in the USA who sought compensation for their own weakness. Read more…
In a previous issue, we reported that Subway’s franchisees in Germany were highly dissatisfied with the way the brand conducted its business there. In response to fierce public criticism carried by influential German and US media, Subway admitted that the roll-out in Germany could have been handled better. He pointed out, however, that concrete steps had been taken to address the situation. Feedback from Germany suggests that this has resulted in the restoration of peace between Subway and its German franchisees.
BEE has been in place for the past 12 years but progress to date has been painfully slow. This has prompted some high profile individuals to question the effectiveness of the existing legislation. Even President Mbeki has joined the growing chorus of discontent by commenting that “… when it comes to the implementation of BEE, South Africans are not singing from the same song sheet.” He is talking about the lack of real transformation, but there are other, unintended, consequences. Read more…
Would you like us to elaborate on any of the topics covered above, or do you have other franchise-related questions? Visit www.whichfranchise.co.za, go to the “Ask an expert” section and post your questions. Our panel of experts will answer them promptly. Please note, however, that we can only deal with questions regarding the principles of franchising. We cannot recommend a specific franchise, or comment on its merits.
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