Amol Arora, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of SHEMROCK & SHEMFORD

Revolutionising the education sector by making it more interesting, engaging and motivating,  Arora family with over 85 years of combined experience in the field of education started SHEMROCK. In an interview Amol Arora, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of SHEMROCK & SHEMFORD Group of Schools shares company’s growth via franchising.

Neha Gohil (NG): Shed some light on your entrepreneurial journey and success of SHEMROCK & SHEMFORD group of schools?

Amol Arora (AA): My entrepreneurial journey began in 1989 with the launch of our first SHEMROCK pre-school. After the first SHEMROCK was successful, we opened a second branch. Furthermore running a school requires two kind of efforts – first the educational effort, which is focused on building better school systems, better curriculum, innovative teaching techniques etc. The second kind of work required is non-technical which involves identifying the right locations, local administration, local marketing, motivating staff, controlling costs and the general passion to run a business.

The trigger to enter the formal school segment came in 2006 when my son was to be born and I asked myself ‘Which school will he go after SHEMROCK?’ I decided to diversify the company into the formal school segment. After considerable research we launched SHEMFORD in 2008 and in three years we have 18 schools operational and 12 more finalised for the coming years. The franchise model worked here well because the 10+2 school segment is a capital-intensive model and there would have been limitations on how much we could have grown.  

NG: When and why did you choose franchising as your business model?
AA: In 1992, the word franchising had entered our dictionary and we found it to be a good fit with our model. Through this model we could expand and reach a wider audience with our limited resources. We had local partners who were convinced with our model and felt that the model would work in their community. They would find the right location and invest as per our guidance. This model allowed us to focus on the educational part of running the schools while our partners looked after the local issues. It was a perfect match as the franchisees complemented our skills beautifully. Thus was born the concept of school franchising in India!   

NG: How is 'SHEMROCK' distinctive from other school chains?
AA: Our concept and model is unique in its philosophy – a centralised research based organisation, which enhances the teaching-learning process in each school. We are the only organisation with a 100 per cent management focus on supporting our pre-schools and schools.

Our schools can boast of having one of the lowest failure rates across all sectors in franchising! This is because we do not let a branch close down –we work with our franchisees to identify the reason for non-performance and ultimately turn it around. 

NG: How has franchising helped the brand so far in achieving its target? What are your further expansion plans via franchising?
AA: The company decided to grow its network to avoid children travelling long distances to enjoy the benefits of high quality early childhood education and in the process started the first school franchise in India.
We intend to grow nationally and in the SAARC & Middle East countries in the next five years. 

NG: What kind of location are you looking for expansion in India?
AA: We shall be setting up schools in select markets in Tier I and tier II cities. 

NG:  Where all are you present in the country and how many franchisees do you have?
AA: SHEMROCK operate 150 centres in India and one in Nepal. SHEMFORD has already crossed the borders and has now opened its first International school in Doha, Qatar and in India it presently has 22 schools and another 15 in pipeline. 

NG: What are your requisites in terms of skills, area and investment? What parameters do you follow for the selection of franchise partners?
AA: All potential franchisees are carefully screened to ensure that they match the SHEMROCK spirit. Each branch is then carefully selected after considering the viability of the project. We personally ensure the success of each of our branches and take pride in the fact that we have one of highest success rates in the industry. Our team keeps a careful eye on the deviations for the system and step in when we feel franchisees actions are detrimental to the long-term success for the brand.
For SHEMROCK –An investment of about Rs 7-8 lakh (excluding land) is required and a space for setting up a franchise is 2,000 sq. ft on the ground floor in a dense residential location. 

NG: What kind of training and support do you offer to a franchisee?
AA: As a SHEMROCK branch, our franchises become a part of the team that is focused on supporting the school with the best. They are provided with the right training, tools and support. Extreme measures are taken to make sure their association with SHEMROCK is fruitful. They receive extensive support by the following methods:
Training, Recruitment, Operational Support, Curriculum Design and Support, Advertising & Promotion support and Continuous Product Development.