FRANCHISE YOUR GROWTH GRAPH

In a session titled ‘Franchising Your Business: Create Strong Brand Positioning in the Marketplace’ that was moderated by Payal Gulati, Senior Editor, Retailer Media, it was pointed out there are two ways to grow your business. One is the organic way by opening company-owned stores and the other is the inorganic way by taking the franchise route where you find a right person who believes in your concept and you can work together.

Key Factors for Global Brands

The discussion went on to highlight the key things global brands should know before entering a country like India. Karthikeyan Vishnu, Chief Operating Officer, Kioda India, said, “Compliance is one thing we as a company are very particular of when entering the country. We make sure that all the rules and regulations are being followed. Also, the profiling of the franchise partner is very critical for us.” Adding to it, Amit Sabharwal, Chief Operating Officer, Phonup, said, “To start a brand in India there should be proper SOPs and processes which should be given to the franchisor or joint venture person and should be peculated down to the franchisees. We look for the right profile of the franchise and the right place.”

Franchising, a Logical Expansion
One of the themes that came up for discussion was about why should a developer become a franchisee? Munish Baldev, CEO and Founder, J S Martin & Co, said, “Franchising is not plan A but it is definitely plan B. You can put in the extra money you have into something that works for you. For example, a lot of developers are becoming retailers by themselves these days and it gives you a better value on your real estate. Hence, franchising is the way forward for future shopping malls in India.”

Making it a Win-Win Game

In order to make franchising a win-win model for both the franchisor and franchise, Rajdeep Sarkar said, “We partner with the franchisees and help them understand the business. We plug in as per our internal know-how in terms of requirement, stock management, training and visual display. It is important that we facilitate the franchise in securing his earning.”

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