Celebrate Franchising In India

FRANCHISE BONANZA-CELEBRATING FRANCHISING.

Celebrating Franchising could well be another festivity we get used to in the coming times. We will hear great success stories in franchising in the coming years, as this is the Beginning. After a fabulous year of growth, coupled with a never before year for Bollywood and the international acquisitions of Corus, Novelis, & Iconic Brands like Land Rover, Jaguar we are now shifting gears.

Any which ways franchising is erupting and I have not seen it better than this over the last decade. After unprecedented growth and the franchise business arrival in the Indian market, a real carnival season is unfolding itself. The MNC’S and new concept companies are factually standing up on their toes looking at INDIA as a highly potential target for their future franchise expansion.

In fact enough groundwork and spade works have been conducted, researched. Scaling of price, position, acceptance of products and issues of culture, ethical constraints are now being micro managed.

NOW IS THE TIME FOR EVERYONE TO GET INTO FRANCHISING and build a strong foundation for yourself whether you are seeking new businesses or franchisees or have a business that you want to grow through franchising.

As a matter of fact we interact daily with Entrepreneurial talents lining up to participate boldly seeking lucrative business offers. Consulting companies like ours have become more agile and have refined their deliveries. Event managing companies have mushroomed; advertising companies are doing more billings. The retail markets, real estate have met peek level output and is showing signs of future trends, still exhibiting more flamboyant growth potential. Mushrooming newer concepts in the retail business are the birth of expansive Malls in the country. Infact we receive at least two new enquiries everyday of people & companies trying to see if they could be ‘franchise their ideas’ from a situation a couple of years ago when most small and medium sized business did not even know what franchising was.

There is tremendous awareness that is being created and with franchise expo’s (I know of at least 10 expositions that will be held this year alone across the various cities of this country), there is bound to be a lot of new businesses springing up from different industries. With this scenario, the real franchise festive season has started, yester years this business model was still an unheard off subject, few would have discussed and have abandoned.

After all, gone are the days business community impulsively decided on putting their investments in an unfounded business, especially after hearing of franchise business model. They are more than convinced now that franchise business means: assured ROI, time tested and proven methodology at their disposal and consequential growth potential possibilities.

Introducing Franchise business in India has gathered enough material evidence so as to declare its success and apt business platform. Finding qualified prospective entrepreneurs, business buyers, educating them on the franchise business and convincing them to take up lucrative opportunities for a great challenge. Identifying the right challenge, people with business acumen and financial strengths, inspiring and motivating them to accept new business interests, changing their lifestyle and approach in doing business is all now becoming a practical reality. Today more than ever people are ready to accept change, they are hungry for information and what the next big idea is or how could I step into the next sunrise industry.

As a matter of fact, the business of franchise is not only a concept of expansion, but also a complete business system with regard to a successful brand, making it viable to its consumers and establishing brand equity & Image. Franchising essentially stands for creating wealth and also a well-grounded pathway to optimize resources. A lot of popular brands today own their credence to successful franchising worldwide and our country is going on a transition phase, disowning negative impressions of foreign business styles and looking at it in a more positive and forthcoming way.

Indian Brands require innovative approach. They are highly successful and have excellent product acceptance, by imbibing franchise route they can effectively stabilize and practice cost effective methodologies in expansion and wide area networking. If well structured and executed the franchise model can pay rich dividends. It is highly cost effective and will serve all ends.

In most developing economies franchising plays a very vital role in eliminating lackadaisical, under productive channels that is widespread in systems. Most Indian products and services will in future travel the franchise route and reach consumers in the best possible manner. What we need to understand in depth here is the totality of the market functions and how we could leverage franchising as a way of business to serve the consumer, the franchisee and the franchiser in addition.

All advanced civilization needs to have global perspectives. There cannot exist any kind of constraints and must do away with restrictions. It would be disastrous and catastrophic if enough thought and innovativeness do not come under our effort and certain degree of acceptance does not prevail.

Today we are not only accepting burgers and pizzas as a way of life in cities and towns, but the gyms and foreign movies have their own impact, hence it is only a question of adoptive attitude and not a question of any resultant impact or any other. Again we will have to adopt the best practices followed worldwide, adopt it to our own conditions and give what our consumers need fittingly.

Startling number of rich class people attribute their emergence into financial freedom to franchising because they perceived great innovative ideas beforehand and built up a franchise system that has made them different today. Great franchisees are those who followed franchiser model and never digressed what has been given to them by way of technology, and systems. They are implementers of systems designed by others.

The doubts and apprehensions people had about franchise business few years back have been diluted specially after the advent of some of the MNC’S and their success in the country is tracked. The system is rather fool proof, As a result Capital markets, banks and other lenders, leasing companies, landlords, the press and much of the public all are looking upon franchising.

Lot of focused study and research has gone into the conceptual stage of franchising and materialization of the business model. It is the legality and governing laws that will undergo changes now and then, so as to accommodate franchise business model, but it is important that these are not too stringent because you need free atmosphere to breathe and grow and if we have harsh legislations, it might just hurt the infants, or might suffocate the growing companies. It is still on a platform of legal scrutiny and of bench marking and protective measures that needs to be carefully incorporated. Having said that we believe that a complex system like franchising is already very well addressed by the existing laws of our country. In trying to compete the race of being a high economy and resourceful country India is now proactive. There exists enough proof and ensuing evidence that our country will thrive on franchise business and show receptiveness in the coming years.

Everybody else could just dive in, celebrate, enjoy and Profit From Franchising.

From The Desk Of Amit Nahar -A Franchise Consultant Based In Bangalore,India.
Founder & CEO of Sparkleminds Franchise Catalysts –A Franchise Consulting Company Specializing in Franchising Solutions for Companies Seeking Franchise Growth and Entrepreneurs seeking New Businesses.
You could reach him on amit@sparkleminds.com or on 080-41512345for comments on this article