FRANCHISING Today, tomorrow!

The master franchising business is a successful business model because the association enables a brand with finding the right foothold in the market. If one asks me if it is a future-fit business model then I will say yes, absolutely! Simply because in this model, the brand is able to gain knowledge andunderstanding of the local market through the franchisees. The risk and investment involved for the brand are considerably reduced, as compared to joint venture and other formats.

Another doable strategy in franchising business is that a franchisor should educate partners on the different types of markets and what would work within a particular local market or for a particular season. For example, Diwali and the festive season is a huge shopping season in India and therefore brand merchandise and offers must be customised to drive sales accordingly. Here, a franchisor can organise workshops, meetings with franchise partners to make them understand and
make use of such occasions.

Avoid danger

In my professional career, I observed businesses without much understanding of the local markets and catchment. Such businesses fail to cater to the catchment need and eventually they face closure too. Also, such a situation could arise when there is disconnect between brand partners and franchisees as far as domestic markets are concerned.

Franchising is a method of distribution

You will be wrong if you take franchising as an industry.Franchising is a method of distribution. The method is used in different industry classifications ranging from
restaurants to automotive services, and new concepts are arriving on the market every week. And like every business model, franchising too has its share of trends, fads, fadeouts, pretenders and champions. What is surging today may drop from sight tomorrow, and the solid but little-known business idea in your home town may
grow to a household name in just a few years. That is part of the magic and the excitement of franchising.

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