As usual, today’s newsletter brings you a selection of news and views designed to help you keep at the forefront of developments in the franchise sector. We hope you enjoy it, and look forward to your feedback.
Placécol on the expansion trail
On August 21, 2007, Skincare products manufacturer and franchisor Placécol Holdings listed on the JSE’s AltX board. The company issued 130 million shares, initially at R1 each, and plans to use the proceeds of the listing to gain additional market share. Read more…
Chicken Licken – a pioneer of transformation
During the early 1980s, Chicken Licken founder George Sombonos broke the laws of the day by establishing restaurants in Soweto and serving people of all races in their cars. Today, Chicken Licken has over 220 outlets located across southern Africa, and more than half its franchisees are black. Read more…
Franchise legislation
After debating the issue for about two decades, Australia introduced franchise-specific legislation in 1998. It falls under Australia’s anti-trust and consumer protection legislation and is known as the franchising code. It deals with disclosure requirements and governs the relationship between a franchisor and its franchisees. Read more…
Foreign investors’ concerns
In 2005, South Africa attracted $6,379 in foreign direct investment (FDI); not too shabby but we could do with more. Figures for 2006 and 2007 to date are not yet available but indications are that they will show an increase but we have to admit that other developing countries are doing better. Read more…
Happy Birthday, Big Mac!
The Big Mac, McDonald’s iconic triple-decker burger, is 40 years old. Developed by Jim Delligatti, a McDonald’s franchisee in Uniontown, Pa., USA, it literally took the world by storm and now graces the menus of McDonald’s outlets world-wide. To celebrate the burger’s anniversary in style, Delligatti, who is now 89, opened a Big Mac Museum Restaurant in North Huntingdon, Pa. It is choc-a-bloc with memorabilia, celebratory exhibits and the world’s largest Big Mac statue. Read more…
If we accept change as inevitable then it becomes clear that to survive, every franchise network needs to adapt to changing market conditions. The following are just a few suggestions on what can be done to make this happen.
The role of mentor is an essential one in the arsenal of the modern-day franchisor but this role is often misunderstood. Unlike a field service consultant, whose primary task it is to teach franchisees how to do the right things in the right way, a mentor is expected to help franchisees align their life goals with those of the organisation.
This is a tall order by any standards, made even more difficult by the reality that both parties have business imperatives to meet. However, no progressive franchisor can afford to ignore mentoring as a tool for network expansion. Read more…
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.”
This is why Vuyo Jack’s book Make BEE work for you – a manual for small business comes just at the right time. The book, which was sponsored by Absa and SAB, explains the BEE Codes in plain English. It is aimed at managers of companies that are classified as qualifying small enterprises (QSEs). This means that they have annual sales of up to R35 million. As members of franchised networks are separate legal entities, many of them will fall into this category; for them, this book should be required reading.
Make BEE work for you is published by Frontrunner Publishing and available at good bookstores country-wide.
Author, speaker and retail consultant John Stanley has just completed Operating a Retail Store. This gem of a book covers everything from how to recruit sales personnel to merchandising tips. Everything piece of advice is highly practical and has been proven to work. Operating a Retail Store is published by Frontrunner Publishing as part of the popular “Be a Winner Pocket Books” series and is available at good bookstores country-wide.
Would you like us to elaborate on any of the topics covered above, or do you have any 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. Plus you stand a chance to be acknowledged as the initiator of a topic for our next newsletter.
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