Mumbai: Even as retailers shelved their expansion plans last year and struggled to keep company-owned stores running, they figured out a way to multiply their stores and sustain business — through franchising.
Franchise India Holding Ltd, estimates a rise in the adoption of franchise model by small-format retail players in the country since the slowdown last year.
As per its estimates, 85% of all small-format retail business in India now operates on the franchise model.
“Earlier, only 50% of small-box retail companies in India operated through franchise model, while the rest is operated only through company owned stores. This is a very significant growth from what it used to be a year or two ago,” Gaurav Marya, president, Franchise India Holding said.
During the recession, most retailers were starved of capital for expansion. Franchising offered a model to sustain their business.
“That was when we saw the growth in retail and companies that were earlier not franchising started looking at the model,” Marya said.
Brands such as Koutons, Levis, Reebok and Adidas, which were traditionally not franchising, have lately started looking at the model.
So much so, the retail format ratio for most brands now stands at 80% dedicated to franchising and 20% for company run at strategic locations.
According to Franchise India, large-box retailers typically desist from taking the franchise route, although some, like Trent’s Westside chain, are franchised.
Videocon India, which runs two retail formats — Next (electronics chain) and Planet M (music and departmental chain) — is now starting to franchise Planet M, which was earlier being expanded through company-run stores.
Bata India, the largest retailer and manufacturer of footwear in the country with 1,200 stores, is starting its own franchise network to expand retail presence in a few months, Marcelo Villagran, managing director and chief executive officer of the company, had told DNA Money in October. Bata is looking at opening 60 flagship stores every year and tapping the franchise model will help the brand accelerate further in the market that is getting highly competitive.
Cookie Man, the retail chain store owned by Australian Foods Ltd, which runs over 50 stores across India, is looking at reaching a total of 250 stores through franchising in another 5-6 years.
“Not only does the franchisee bring in the capital, but also, the retailers are able to save 4-8% on the point of sales,” Marya of Franchise India said.
Currently, 45% of organised retail sales in India are through franchised outlets.
This is in line with the developed world countries like US and Europe, where these models are well incepted in the business world.
As per Franchise India estimates, the fashion retail industry in the country is pegged at $29 billion and growing at 12% per annum. India is now opening up as a competitive apparel retail market.
The market potential for footwear is 1.1 billion pairs and it is estimated to be a $2 billion sector.
The jewellery market is estimated at $9.7 billion, with gold contributing 98% to retailing. And the industry is touting retail franchising as the best mode of tapping the market’s potential.
Source:Shailaja Sharma / DNA
Friday, January 1, 2010 2:17 IST
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Zapak to set up 300 gaming centres in India.
Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group's gaming and entertainment arm, Zapak, expects to break-even this fiscal and plans to scale-up its gaming centres to 300 by June next, a top company official said.
"We are planning to set up 300 gaming cafes in across 50 cities in India. All the new cafes will be opened through the franchise route," Zapak's CFO Rohit Sharma told PTI.
Zapak, the country's largest online gaming portal, has 75 live cafes and has signed another 120 franchises last month, which would get operationalised in the next few months, Sharma said, without divulging investment details.
The gaming cafes would offer games of all genres like racing, shooting, cricket, counter strike, need for speed, crazy kart, flat out and many more.
"The gameplexes will have the latest technology and infrastructure besides providing world-class content for Indian gamers of all ages," Sharma said.
With the gaming industry growing at a pace of 30-40 per cent, Zapak is also likely to break-even this fiscal, he said.\
The company, which is also the largest distributor of gaming CDs, has 4,000 retail outlets. It also sells gaming merchandises like keyboards, consoles, headphones and other gaming accessories.
Recently, Zapak has launched two toys for Christmas--Zubber and Aquasand.
Zubber, a dough, can be used by kids to make various shapes. It comes in different colours and on mixing with a white-coloured activator, hardens into a rubber-like material.
Aquasand is a magic sand that never gets wet and can be used with accompanying moulds to create underwater sculptures using the squeezer bottles filled with Aquasand.
Within the next 2-3 years Zapak aims to expand its user base to 1.5 crore and create the biggest distribution network in the country.
source:http://www.business-standard.com/india/news
"We are planning to set up 300 gaming cafes in across 50 cities in India. All the new cafes will be opened through the franchise route," Zapak's CFO Rohit Sharma told PTI.
Zapak, the country's largest online gaming portal, has 75 live cafes and has signed another 120 franchises last month, which would get operationalised in the next few months, Sharma said, without divulging investment details.
The gaming cafes would offer games of all genres like racing, shooting, cricket, counter strike, need for speed, crazy kart, flat out and many more.
"The gameplexes will have the latest technology and infrastructure besides providing world-class content for Indian gamers of all ages," Sharma said.
With the gaming industry growing at a pace of 30-40 per cent, Zapak is also likely to break-even this fiscal, he said.\
The company, which is also the largest distributor of gaming CDs, has 4,000 retail outlets. It also sells gaming merchandises like keyboards, consoles, headphones and other gaming accessories.
Recently, Zapak has launched two toys for Christmas--Zubber and Aquasand.
Zubber, a dough, can be used by kids to make various shapes. It comes in different colours and on mixing with a white-coloured activator, hardens into a rubber-like material.
Aquasand is a magic sand that never gets wet and can be used with accompanying moulds to create underwater sculptures using the squeezer bottles filled with Aquasand.
Within the next 2-3 years Zapak aims to expand its user base to 1.5 crore and create the biggest distribution network in the country.
source:http://www.business-standard.com/india/news
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Worlds Finest Food Franchise Companies In India
BANGALORE: Amit Burman, vice-chairman of Dabur India, never thought that a casual stroll down one of south Delhi’s upcoming localities would
provide an idea for a unique business opportunity.
In 2006, the US-returned Burman and his friend Rohit Aggarwal were in Saket, standing outside one of the outlets of the international chain, Subway. The place was crowded, with people, especially in the 18-35 age group, buzzing in and out constantly. Burman and Aggarwal paused their conversation and wondered if there was a business opportunity here.
“Franchising Subway began as a hobby,” Burman says laughing. In the initial months, the team had to work on creating the sandwich category and tailoring it to local tastes. The classic cold-cut turkey and tuna subs had to share space with chicken tikka and chicken seekh kabab fare. “People were very doubtful about the venture and would ask if I planned to make sandwiches all my life,” jokes Burman.
He needn’t have worried. In three years, Burman’s Lite Bite Foods has become Subway’s largest franchisee in India. The company operates 40 quick- service restaurant (QSR) outlets and has added other international brands apart from Subway to its menu. Street Foods of India serves roti-kababs and rajma-chawal though kiosks, bakery cafe Bakers Street at airports, Pino’s Pasta Pizza and Rapps. It will also franchise US-based fried chicken brand Pollo Campero in the next few months. “We intend to become a restaurant chain with 200 outlets, including 30 QSRs, in three years,” he added.
Consumers’ growing penchant for eating out and taking quick meals in between long working hours has spawned a boom in the Indian QSR industry. Across the country, businessmen are either venturing into QSR market on their own or through franchisee tie-ups with foreign chains such as Domino’s and Papa John. Unlike fine dining restaurants, QSRs largely operate through smaller self-service outlets that provide value-for-money food that can also be consumed while on the go. It is estimated to be worth about Rs 2,500 crore and is growing at 30-40% annually.
Bangalore, which is a favoured choice for many people to open restaurants, has also seen an explosion in the number of QSRs in the recent past. This includes Spencer’s Retail’s Au Bon Pain, Global Franchisee Architects’s Cream and Fudge Factory and Donut Baker as well as Italian coffee brand Caffe Pascucci. US chain Melting Pot is ready to invest $5-$7.5 million in the Indian market by 2010.
“Many international franchise food brands are successfully operating in the country and these success stories have sent positive signals to other US franchisors to actively look at India for expansion,” said US Consulate’s principal commercial officer, Aileen Crowe Nandi. The consulate recently held a programme to introduce Indian entrepreneurs to American fast-food outlets such as CKE Restaurants, Round Table Pizza, Tropical Sno, Melting Pot and Church’s Chicken.
QSR segment operates on a high volume-low margin business model. Not only does it focus on delivering products with speed within high footfall areas but its ability to push sales even in recent months by tapping into captive audiences at malls, educational institutions and airports through evolving formats such as kiosks, drive-ins or even take-away joints has been critical.
“India offers tremendous opportunity due to its sheer size which will see the Papa John’s outlets quadruple to 100 in four years,” said Tapan
Vaidya, general manager, restaurant division, of the Jawad Business Group—the franchisee for pizza take-away chain Papa John’s in India and Middle East.
International brands are not the only ones to cash in on this trend. Local entrepreneurs have jumped into the fray with different concepts and ideas. Sunil Cherian, who runs the Chennai-based Burgerman is one such. Burgerman’s core business proposition is to offer 25 burger variants within a 25 sq ft kiosk. With 50 outlets in Chennai and 30 in Bangalore by the month-end, the chain has tied up with retail chains to grab captive consumers at Big Bazaar, Foodworld, Nilgiris or even HPCL and BPCL.
BuddyChef, which comes from the stables of Pune’s organic farming firm Orgreen, aims to sell pre-cooked Indian and Chinese meals under $1 across every pin code. With seven outlets across Pune, it is selling 5,000 meals a day across the counter to working couples, students and small offices.
Franchising has been a catalyst in fuelling the QSR concept in India. Sanjesh Thakur, Ernst & Young’s associate director, retail & consumer products practice, says that around 17% of the F&B outlets within the organised sector are operated through franchisees and over 30% of the upcoming outlets are projected to be based on this model.
The QSR trend was kicked off by the likes of McDonald’s and Yum! Restaurant’s KFC, which began operations in the 1990s. “Since the market opened up in the ‘90s, consumer habits including eating-out behaviour has gradually undergone a change,” said KFC India’s marketing director Unnat Varma. KFC added 27 outlets last year taking its total count to 72.
All this growth needs money and investors have started opening their purses to the industry.
Bangalore-based East West Ethnic Foods, the holding company of wraps chain Kaati Zone which is adding 100 outlets by next fiscal across Maharashtra, is in talks with two-three private equity players to raise between Rs 12-15 crore.
It received its first round of funding from Accel Partners India, Draper Investment company and the founder of Helion Ventures, Ashish Gupta.
Source:30 Dec 2009, 0006 hrs IST, Sarah Jacob, ET Bureau
provide an idea for a unique business opportunity.
In 2006, the US-returned Burman and his friend Rohit Aggarwal were in Saket, standing outside one of the outlets of the international chain, Subway. The place was crowded, with people, especially in the 18-35 age group, buzzing in and out constantly. Burman and Aggarwal paused their conversation and wondered if there was a business opportunity here.
“Franchising Subway began as a hobby,” Burman says laughing. In the initial months, the team had to work on creating the sandwich category and tailoring it to local tastes. The classic cold-cut turkey and tuna subs had to share space with chicken tikka and chicken seekh kabab fare. “People were very doubtful about the venture and would ask if I planned to make sandwiches all my life,” jokes Burman.
He needn’t have worried. In three years, Burman’s Lite Bite Foods has become Subway’s largest franchisee in India. The company operates 40 quick- service restaurant (QSR) outlets and has added other international brands apart from Subway to its menu. Street Foods of India serves roti-kababs and rajma-chawal though kiosks, bakery cafe Bakers Street at airports, Pino’s Pasta Pizza and Rapps. It will also franchise US-based fried chicken brand Pollo Campero in the next few months. “We intend to become a restaurant chain with 200 outlets, including 30 QSRs, in three years,” he added.
Consumers’ growing penchant for eating out and taking quick meals in between long working hours has spawned a boom in the Indian QSR industry. Across the country, businessmen are either venturing into QSR market on their own or through franchisee tie-ups with foreign chains such as Domino’s and Papa John. Unlike fine dining restaurants, QSRs largely operate through smaller self-service outlets that provide value-for-money food that can also be consumed while on the go. It is estimated to be worth about Rs 2,500 crore and is growing at 30-40% annually.
Bangalore, which is a favoured choice for many people to open restaurants, has also seen an explosion in the number of QSRs in the recent past. This includes Spencer’s Retail’s Au Bon Pain, Global Franchisee Architects’s Cream and Fudge Factory and Donut Baker as well as Italian coffee brand Caffe Pascucci. US chain Melting Pot is ready to invest $5-$7.5 million in the Indian market by 2010.
“Many international franchise food brands are successfully operating in the country and these success stories have sent positive signals to other US franchisors to actively look at India for expansion,” said US Consulate’s principal commercial officer, Aileen Crowe Nandi. The consulate recently held a programme to introduce Indian entrepreneurs to American fast-food outlets such as CKE Restaurants, Round Table Pizza, Tropical Sno, Melting Pot and Church’s Chicken.
QSR segment operates on a high volume-low margin business model. Not only does it focus on delivering products with speed within high footfall areas but its ability to push sales even in recent months by tapping into captive audiences at malls, educational institutions and airports through evolving formats such as kiosks, drive-ins or even take-away joints has been critical.
“India offers tremendous opportunity due to its sheer size which will see the Papa John’s outlets quadruple to 100 in four years,” said Tapan
Vaidya, general manager, restaurant division, of the Jawad Business Group—the franchisee for pizza take-away chain Papa John’s in India and Middle East.
International brands are not the only ones to cash in on this trend. Local entrepreneurs have jumped into the fray with different concepts and ideas. Sunil Cherian, who runs the Chennai-based Burgerman is one such. Burgerman’s core business proposition is to offer 25 burger variants within a 25 sq ft kiosk. With 50 outlets in Chennai and 30 in Bangalore by the month-end, the chain has tied up with retail chains to grab captive consumers at Big Bazaar, Foodworld, Nilgiris or even HPCL and BPCL.
BuddyChef, which comes from the stables of Pune’s organic farming firm Orgreen, aims to sell pre-cooked Indian and Chinese meals under $1 across every pin code. With seven outlets across Pune, it is selling 5,000 meals a day across the counter to working couples, students and small offices.
Franchising has been a catalyst in fuelling the QSR concept in India. Sanjesh Thakur, Ernst & Young’s associate director, retail & consumer products practice, says that around 17% of the F&B outlets within the organised sector are operated through franchisees and over 30% of the upcoming outlets are projected to be based on this model.
The QSR trend was kicked off by the likes of McDonald’s and Yum! Restaurant’s KFC, which began operations in the 1990s. “Since the market opened up in the ‘90s, consumer habits including eating-out behaviour has gradually undergone a change,” said KFC India’s marketing director Unnat Varma. KFC added 27 outlets last year taking its total count to 72.
All this growth needs money and investors have started opening their purses to the industry.
Bangalore-based East West Ethnic Foods, the holding company of wraps chain Kaati Zone which is adding 100 outlets by next fiscal across Maharashtra, is in talks with two-three private equity players to raise between Rs 12-15 crore.
It received its first round of funding from Accel Partners India, Draper Investment company and the founder of Helion Ventures, Ashish Gupta.
Source:30 Dec 2009, 0006 hrs IST, Sarah Jacob, ET Bureau
Fitness Centers, Gyms, Womens Only Gyms Franchise Business Opportunities
After all the New Year parties are over, it will be time to atone for excesses and make resolutions. And getting in shape is high on the list,
especially for those who went overboard celebrating the economy’s rebound act. But whether these resolutions are kept or recycled for the next year, fitness chains are rejoicing because 2010 is expected to bring joyous tidings of healthy business.
While there is no estimate of the number of fitness outlets in India owing to the local and fragmented nature of the industry, a Technopak Advisors report says that the gym and fitness centre market is worth around Rs 690 crore. The anti-obesity market, worth Rs 1,800 crore, is projected to grow at a 13% CAGR through 2010, the report adds.
There are a handful of big brand names in this sector, at present, and literally hundreds of smaller ones, with new gyms being added every day. And while fewer Indians (around 1%) actively participate in physical activities than their counterparts in the West, the trend is said to be slowly reversing, mainly in the upper middle-class segment where attitudes towards fitness and health are changing.
Talwalkars is by far the oldest and largest brand in India, but foreign chains like Gold’s Gym, set up in 2002, were also attracted by the lure of India’s population and the lack of a mass ‘fitness culture’. Gradually, other homegrown brands like Leena Mogre Fitness Centre, Barbarian Power Gym, FitnessOne and Sykz emerged from the unorganised clutter of fitness centres. They have survived the slowdown and are working out growth strategies.
FitnessOne, for instance, was set up in 2004 by P Vivekanand, a former pilot in the US. Says Vivekanand, “Lifestyle diseases are rising alarmingly and people are becoming increasingly aware of the need to exercise regularly.” FitnessOne, with an average annual membership fee of Rs 20,000, was clearly targeted at moneyed classes. And the response was great. By its first anniversary in 2005, FitnessOne had five centres in South India. That number kept growing as the brand grew. “Even last year, we clocked around 40% growth,” Vivekanand says.
The group also started Pink, a women-only fitness chain that opened to a rousing welcome in Chennai. FitnessOne is a Southern success story, and plans to stay that way on the retail side, adding over 40 centres to its existing 24 retail outlets next fiscal. It is also in talks with private equity players and plans to close a funding deal in 2010.
The fitness craze has been partially caused by six-packed and body beautiful Hindi movie actors, who in turn, rely on people like Satyajit and Devashish Chourasia. Their gym, Barbarian Power Gym, was started way back in 1991 in Betul, Madhya Pradesh. But the founders got their big break in Mumbai in 1996 after they met actor Aamir Khan on a movie set, and he encouraged them to start a professional gym in Mumbai. Satyajit and Devashish decided to sell off their Nagpur outlet, took a quick loan and shifted to Mumbai. They started with a 1,400 sq ft gym at Lokhandwala and have not looked back since. Today, Barbarian has a total of eight outlets spread across Mumbai, Delhi, Nagpur, Betul and Mathura.
Satyajit has personally trained Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Hritik Roshan, Ajay Devgn, Rani Mukherjee, Esha Deol and many others. Among corporates, he has trained Lakshmi Mittal, Anil Ambani and Sanjay Reddy (of GVK). “We want to take the company public in the next five years,” he says, adding, “There is huge opportunity. At the moment, only a fraction of the population has been tapped.” In the plan is taking his gyms to smaller cities. He has already started outlets in Ahmedabad and has signed up for more in Lucknow, Rajkot, Baroda, Surat and about 12,000 sq ft of space at a mall in Indore. “We have decided to take the pure franchise route ahead.”
Indeed, the franchise route is being favoured by many. Sykz, a five-gym chain, is also taking the route. Its founding partners Nitin Gupta and Aman Bhandari are planning to add at least 6-8 gyms a year from 2010 onwards. “It’s a 16-hour job. We cannot be involved with too many centres. We are looking for partners in various cities who are equally passionate about fitness as we are,” says Bhandari. Sykz is looking at expanding to other tier-I cities as well as tier-II towns such as Gurgaon, Noida, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Indore, Jaipur and others.
Many fitness chains are banking on smaller cities to bring in business. Leena Mogre, director of Leena Mogre Fitness Centre, says, “The market is still untapped. New demand will keep getting generated in Tier II and III towns.” Mogre plans to open 50 outlets in smaller cities over the next seven years and is also in talks with investors. “Private funding is an option and we are meeting some investors who’ve shown interest in the sector,” she says.
The boom in fitness, especially in smaller cities has also benefited equipment suppliers like Rajesh Rai, managing director of Jerai Fitness. “Our equipment helps set up a gym in some part of the country every second day,” Rai claims. Rai, who started his own manufacturing unit in 2000, says that he gets regular orders to supply to gyms in Indore, Nagpur, Pune, Raipur, etc. And since many of his customers are smaller organisations, Rai offers them an equipment buyback scheme. “And if they’ve been filing their tax returns regularly, we also try and get them funding through nationalised banks,” Rai says.
As the lure of fitness becomes apparent, celebrities are jumping into it— just like many did with the restaurant business. Models-turned-actors Milind Soman and Rahul Dev launched a fitness centre, Breathe, in Delhi last year. Soman calls this an experiment. “Both of us got into the business because of our background in modeling and also because we anticipate a huge fitness wave in India,” he says. Soman also wants to bust fitness myths propagated by traditional gyms, which hawk supplements and concentrate on machine-based training. “India has never had a sports culture, forget about a fitness culture,” he says, adding, “We plan to promote sports fitness and have very little dependence on isolation machines to achieve fitness.”
For the duo, it’s about creating an environment, which is conducive to working out well. At Breathe, people from beyond a 4 km radius around the gym are not allowed to become members. “The idea is to ensure that all members come to the gym,” says Soman.
Hence you have a lot of options that you could explore before you take up a health and fitness franchise.
Source:25 Dec 2009, 0325 hrs IST, Nikhil Menon & Ravi Teja Sharma, ET Bureau
especially for those who went overboard celebrating the economy’s rebound act. But whether these resolutions are kept or recycled for the next year, fitness chains are rejoicing because 2010 is expected to bring joyous tidings of healthy business.
While there is no estimate of the number of fitness outlets in India owing to the local and fragmented nature of the industry, a Technopak Advisors report says that the gym and fitness centre market is worth around Rs 690 crore. The anti-obesity market, worth Rs 1,800 crore, is projected to grow at a 13% CAGR through 2010, the report adds.
There are a handful of big brand names in this sector, at present, and literally hundreds of smaller ones, with new gyms being added every day. And while fewer Indians (around 1%) actively participate in physical activities than their counterparts in the West, the trend is said to be slowly reversing, mainly in the upper middle-class segment where attitudes towards fitness and health are changing.
Talwalkars is by far the oldest and largest brand in India, but foreign chains like Gold’s Gym, set up in 2002, were also attracted by the lure of India’s population and the lack of a mass ‘fitness culture’. Gradually, other homegrown brands like Leena Mogre Fitness Centre, Barbarian Power Gym, FitnessOne and Sykz emerged from the unorganised clutter of fitness centres. They have survived the slowdown and are working out growth strategies.
FitnessOne, for instance, was set up in 2004 by P Vivekanand, a former pilot in the US. Says Vivekanand, “Lifestyle diseases are rising alarmingly and people are becoming increasingly aware of the need to exercise regularly.” FitnessOne, with an average annual membership fee of Rs 20,000, was clearly targeted at moneyed classes. And the response was great. By its first anniversary in 2005, FitnessOne had five centres in South India. That number kept growing as the brand grew. “Even last year, we clocked around 40% growth,” Vivekanand says.
The group also started Pink, a women-only fitness chain that opened to a rousing welcome in Chennai. FitnessOne is a Southern success story, and plans to stay that way on the retail side, adding over 40 centres to its existing 24 retail outlets next fiscal. It is also in talks with private equity players and plans to close a funding deal in 2010.
The fitness craze has been partially caused by six-packed and body beautiful Hindi movie actors, who in turn, rely on people like Satyajit and Devashish Chourasia. Their gym, Barbarian Power Gym, was started way back in 1991 in Betul, Madhya Pradesh. But the founders got their big break in Mumbai in 1996 after they met actor Aamir Khan on a movie set, and he encouraged them to start a professional gym in Mumbai. Satyajit and Devashish decided to sell off their Nagpur outlet, took a quick loan and shifted to Mumbai. They started with a 1,400 sq ft gym at Lokhandwala and have not looked back since. Today, Barbarian has a total of eight outlets spread across Mumbai, Delhi, Nagpur, Betul and Mathura.
Satyajit has personally trained Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Hritik Roshan, Ajay Devgn, Rani Mukherjee, Esha Deol and many others. Among corporates, he has trained Lakshmi Mittal, Anil Ambani and Sanjay Reddy (of GVK). “We want to take the company public in the next five years,” he says, adding, “There is huge opportunity. At the moment, only a fraction of the population has been tapped.” In the plan is taking his gyms to smaller cities. He has already started outlets in Ahmedabad and has signed up for more in Lucknow, Rajkot, Baroda, Surat and about 12,000 sq ft of space at a mall in Indore. “We have decided to take the pure franchise route ahead.”
Indeed, the franchise route is being favoured by many. Sykz, a five-gym chain, is also taking the route. Its founding partners Nitin Gupta and Aman Bhandari are planning to add at least 6-8 gyms a year from 2010 onwards. “It’s a 16-hour job. We cannot be involved with too many centres. We are looking for partners in various cities who are equally passionate about fitness as we are,” says Bhandari. Sykz is looking at expanding to other tier-I cities as well as tier-II towns such as Gurgaon, Noida, Chandigarh, Ludhiana, Ahmedabad, Indore, Jaipur and others.
Many fitness chains are banking on smaller cities to bring in business. Leena Mogre, director of Leena Mogre Fitness Centre, says, “The market is still untapped. New demand will keep getting generated in Tier II and III towns.” Mogre plans to open 50 outlets in smaller cities over the next seven years and is also in talks with investors. “Private funding is an option and we are meeting some investors who’ve shown interest in the sector,” she says.
The boom in fitness, especially in smaller cities has also benefited equipment suppliers like Rajesh Rai, managing director of Jerai Fitness. “Our equipment helps set up a gym in some part of the country every second day,” Rai claims. Rai, who started his own manufacturing unit in 2000, says that he gets regular orders to supply to gyms in Indore, Nagpur, Pune, Raipur, etc. And since many of his customers are smaller organisations, Rai offers them an equipment buyback scheme. “And if they’ve been filing their tax returns regularly, we also try and get them funding through nationalised banks,” Rai says.
As the lure of fitness becomes apparent, celebrities are jumping into it— just like many did with the restaurant business. Models-turned-actors Milind Soman and Rahul Dev launched a fitness centre, Breathe, in Delhi last year. Soman calls this an experiment. “Both of us got into the business because of our background in modeling and also because we anticipate a huge fitness wave in India,” he says. Soman also wants to bust fitness myths propagated by traditional gyms, which hawk supplements and concentrate on machine-based training. “India has never had a sports culture, forget about a fitness culture,” he says, adding, “We plan to promote sports fitness and have very little dependence on isolation machines to achieve fitness.”
For the duo, it’s about creating an environment, which is conducive to working out well. At Breathe, people from beyond a 4 km radius around the gym are not allowed to become members. “The idea is to ensure that all members come to the gym,” says Soman.
Hence you have a lot of options that you could explore before you take up a health and fitness franchise.
Source:25 Dec 2009, 0325 hrs IST, Nikhil Menon & Ravi Teja Sharma, ET Bureau
IACM to appoint 500 Franchisees
New DelhiDelhi based computer hardware, networking and electronic security system training institute, IACM plans to appoint five hundred odd franchisees in tier two and tier cities besides six major metros over next four years. When it’s accomplished, IACM will be one of the largest franchising brand in education in the country.
Beginning this December, IACM, has launched an one of its kind road show titled ‘Show Me The Business’. It’ll be a nationwide chain of seminars that will be organized in 100 cities across the country on entrepreneurship opportunities with IACM.
Never before have an education institute embarked on such large scale mass contact program to enroll franchisees particularly from small towns. Said Ravinder Goyal, Director, IACM, “We are planning to plough close to Rupees Twenty-Fifty crores to finance the ambitious expansion of computer hardware, networking and electronic security system training across India.”
Interestingly, the franchisee development seminar aims at targeting upwardly mobile small business families who had been traditionally in managing retail stores in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities but now plans to enter larger business arena.
IACM is trying to assist small retail store owners to set up a franchisee based business for the next generation which is now educated and computer savvy too. Says Ravinder Goyal, Director, IACM, “we have identified a unique segment among old business owners whose children are educated and computer savvy and refuses to be a part of retail store concept. IACM offers a white collared business venture for the second generation of these families.”
It’s an interesting trend. For the first time ever, IACM is trying to broad base education entrepreneurship like never before. Sample this list; ranging from jewellers to doctors to hoteliers to transporters to textile mill owner ---- the list of those who have jumped into the fray of education is intriguing.
IACM has been successful in roping in a diverse segment of small entrepreneurs in education business.
Says Ravinder Goyal, Director, IACM; “After ten years of operation, we were just six centers up until two years back”. However, in a dramatic way, over last two years, ever since we embarked in franchisee development we added sixty centers in fifty cities across the country. I personally can’t yet believe the potential of education franchising in India. This current fiscal year we are likely to touch 90-100 franchisees. This will scale up to five hundred franchisee over next four years in total.
And there’s a queue of people from all walks of life wanting to take up education training as a business. All that we have succeeded in doing is investing in the Brand, creating an unparalleled online testing system and online student and center management system which work to the benefit of franchisees”.
IACM has drawn up an ambitious investment plan to support the franchisee development programme. A sum of rupees Twenty - Fifty crore has been targeted to fund the projected franchisee development programme. Says Ravinder Goyal “We are actively seeking private equity funding as well to meet the fund requirement required to meet the projected expansion plan”.
Source:http://www.financialexpress.com/news
Beginning this December, IACM, has launched an one of its kind road show titled ‘Show Me The Business’. It’ll be a nationwide chain of seminars that will be organized in 100 cities across the country on entrepreneurship opportunities with IACM.
Never before have an education institute embarked on such large scale mass contact program to enroll franchisees particularly from small towns. Said Ravinder Goyal, Director, IACM, “We are planning to plough close to Rupees Twenty-Fifty crores to finance the ambitious expansion of computer hardware, networking and electronic security system training across India.”
Interestingly, the franchisee development seminar aims at targeting upwardly mobile small business families who had been traditionally in managing retail stores in Tier 2 or Tier 3 cities but now plans to enter larger business arena.
IACM is trying to assist small retail store owners to set up a franchisee based business for the next generation which is now educated and computer savvy too. Says Ravinder Goyal, Director, IACM, “we have identified a unique segment among old business owners whose children are educated and computer savvy and refuses to be a part of retail store concept. IACM offers a white collared business venture for the second generation of these families.”
It’s an interesting trend. For the first time ever, IACM is trying to broad base education entrepreneurship like never before. Sample this list; ranging from jewellers to doctors to hoteliers to transporters to textile mill owner ---- the list of those who have jumped into the fray of education is intriguing.
IACM has been successful in roping in a diverse segment of small entrepreneurs in education business.
Says Ravinder Goyal, Director, IACM; “After ten years of operation, we were just six centers up until two years back”. However, in a dramatic way, over last two years, ever since we embarked in franchisee development we added sixty centers in fifty cities across the country. I personally can’t yet believe the potential of education franchising in India. This current fiscal year we are likely to touch 90-100 franchisees. This will scale up to five hundred franchisee over next four years in total.
And there’s a queue of people from all walks of life wanting to take up education training as a business. All that we have succeeded in doing is investing in the Brand, creating an unparalleled online testing system and online student and center management system which work to the benefit of franchisees”.
IACM has drawn up an ambitious investment plan to support the franchisee development programme. A sum of rupees Twenty - Fifty crore has been targeted to fund the projected franchisee development programme. Says Ravinder Goyal “We are actively seeking private equity funding as well to meet the fund requirement required to meet the projected expansion plan”.
Source:http://www.financialexpress.com/news
Thursday, December 24, 2009
How to Become A Franchise Consultant
If you have been seing the growth of franchising In India and understand that franchising could be a profession that you could embark upon then one of the options to garner a pie in the ever growing franchise industry could be to become a franchise consultant.Once you make the decision to become a franchise consultant, what would be the most efficient process to follow in order to make this happen?
Step 1: Research franchise consulting firms
In order to determine which franchise consulting organization to affiliate with, it is recommended that you investigate several firms. Determine the reputation of each company including how long it has been in operation and also the number and types of franchises it represents.
The company should market for at least several hundred franchises representing a wide variety of services. Additionally, the organization should provide a comprehensive training program as well as continuous support to their franchise consultants.
It is advisable to interview current franchise consultants if possible. Find out their thoughts on the organization.
Step 2: Get your financing in order
It is important to become cognizant of what your cost will be to join the consulting companies that you are investigating.
There is typically a one-time fee to join a consulting company as a franchise consultant. This includes training and ongoing support. The cost usually ranges somewhere between Rs100,000 and Rs 500,000
Also factor in funds that you will need to set up your office. Most franchise consultants operate from their homes, thereby minimizing overhead costs.There are options of using your existing offices also to be a full time franchise consultant and have a exclusive/shared office.
If you don't have the capital readily available, you may need to apply for a loan or for a partial loan. Sometimes franchise organizations can point you in the right direction in obtaining financing.Typically, loans are provided on your individual IT returns and the collaterals you are willing to offer to the bank.
Step 3: Participate in training provided by the consulting organization
Part of your investigation of franchise consulting firms included finding out the type of training and support provided. Once you sign on, you will be attending training sessions that should equip you with all the material and skills that you will need to successfully link franchisees with franchise businesses. Take advantage of all of the training offered.
Step 4: Set up your office
Franchise consultants usually operate out of a home office. Much of the work is done via computer, telephone, and fax machine. For optimum working conditions, an up-to-date computer system is recommended. Also, it is usually advisable to set up a separate telephone line for your business. You will learn all of this in training.
Step 5: Work schedule
Finally, based on your lifestyle and income needs, decide if you will work part-time or full time and then prepare your schedule accordingly. Keep in mind that most of your time will be spent contacting leads, doing phone interviews with franchise candidates, and conducting research to determine the best matches for the franchisees as well as the franchisors.
Amit Nahar is a well known franchise professional who consults with franchise systems and franchise seekers. As an author, public speaker & franchise consultant Amit has educated thousands of people about their options in the franchise industry.He typically specialises in franchise development and consulting for companies seeking to strategize their franchising and building franchise organization. Amit is also the CEO of Sparkleminds. If you have questions or want to become a franchise consultant visit sparkleminds.com.
Step 1: Research franchise consulting firms
In order to determine which franchise consulting organization to affiliate with, it is recommended that you investigate several firms. Determine the reputation of each company including how long it has been in operation and also the number and types of franchises it represents.
The company should market for at least several hundred franchises representing a wide variety of services. Additionally, the organization should provide a comprehensive training program as well as continuous support to their franchise consultants.
It is advisable to interview current franchise consultants if possible. Find out their thoughts on the organization.
Step 2: Get your financing in order
It is important to become cognizant of what your cost will be to join the consulting companies that you are investigating.
There is typically a one-time fee to join a consulting company as a franchise consultant. This includes training and ongoing support. The cost usually ranges somewhere between Rs100,000 and Rs 500,000
Also factor in funds that you will need to set up your office. Most franchise consultants operate from their homes, thereby minimizing overhead costs.There are options of using your existing offices also to be a full time franchise consultant and have a exclusive/shared office.
If you don't have the capital readily available, you may need to apply for a loan or for a partial loan. Sometimes franchise organizations can point you in the right direction in obtaining financing.Typically, loans are provided on your individual IT returns and the collaterals you are willing to offer to the bank.
Step 3: Participate in training provided by the consulting organization
Part of your investigation of franchise consulting firms included finding out the type of training and support provided. Once you sign on, you will be attending training sessions that should equip you with all the material and skills that you will need to successfully link franchisees with franchise businesses. Take advantage of all of the training offered.
Step 4: Set up your office
Franchise consultants usually operate out of a home office. Much of the work is done via computer, telephone, and fax machine. For optimum working conditions, an up-to-date computer system is recommended. Also, it is usually advisable to set up a separate telephone line for your business. You will learn all of this in training.
Step 5: Work schedule
Finally, based on your lifestyle and income needs, decide if you will work part-time or full time and then prepare your schedule accordingly. Keep in mind that most of your time will be spent contacting leads, doing phone interviews with franchise candidates, and conducting research to determine the best matches for the franchisees as well as the franchisors.
Amit Nahar is a well known franchise professional who consults with franchise systems and franchise seekers. As an author, public speaker & franchise consultant Amit has educated thousands of people about their options in the franchise industry.He typically specialises in franchise development and consulting for companies seeking to strategize their franchising and building franchise organization. Amit is also the CEO of Sparkleminds. If you have questions or want to become a franchise consultant visit sparkleminds.com.
Sushmita Sens TEPL To Be India Franchisee For Miss Universe Pageant.
It’s a dream come true!”
The multi-talented diva-esque Sushmita Sen has always believed in wearing many hats and excelling in all that she undertakes. Be it winning the first Miss Universe crown for India, becoming a top-notch Bollywood actor, adopting a baby girl at the age of 24 or establishing a business house way ahead of most of her contemporaries, Sushmita has been a forerunner of sorts.
However, the Ex-Miss Universe’s heart was still pining to attain one particular thing: “I have always maintained that I am what I am because of Miss Universe, and I always wanted to take that association ahead in some way. Due to an array of reasons, it had remained a pipe dream till about 1 ½ months back, when Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organisation made a fateful call to me, asking if my company Tantra Entertainment Private Limited (TEPL) would like to become the India franchise owner for holding the preliminary to Miss Universe 2010, which also would entrust TEPL the responsibility of holding a national pageant to select Miss Universe India 2010? I have always believed that the universe conspires to give you what you really want, and that too all in good time. Well, I just had an exemplary revelation of the Universe’s way of working. What better an association could I have asked for?” smiles Sushmita, whose company has thus become the India franchise owner for holding the preliminary to Miss Universe 2010. Primarily into feature film production and distribution, TEPL has ventured into the pageant industry with this franchise and calling the national pageant.
Elaborating about this new business venture of hers, Sushmita says “We’ve launched a mother brand called ‘I AM’ – in keeping with my belief that every individual’s journey begins and blossoms forth from these two words, they’re what define you. This mother brand will work in several verticals, which will be disclosed in good time. However, to begin with, we’ve launched the vertical called ‘I AM She’, a refreshing new platform that will select the next Miss India Universe, who will represent India at the global Miss Universe® competition. ‘I AM She’ has found an able sponsor in the Alchemist group, a leading conglomerate in fields such as healthcare, real estate, F&B etc. We’ve also launched the CSR vertical called ‘I AM Foundation’ which will undertake several CSR initiatives, especially with the participation of the girls chosen as finalists for the Miss Universe India pageant. This year, we’ll be working closely with the Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Bal Asha Trust, The Research Society and The ANI Foundation.”
Having bagged the franchise, Sushmita has set her sights firmly on having the best of Indian girls/women get a chance to represent the country on the prestigious platform. “I have been closely involved in the process of choosing the perfect girls, and by perfect I do not mean just physically perfect. We’re looking for girls who have a balanced body and mind, a strong set of values, confidence, and intelligence. More so, I want the participants to be highly people-oriented - they should be able to connect with all kinds of people in a genuine way. I’ve been very keen on inducing academically oriented and highly qualified girls in the pageant, because, I want to send out the message that participating in a beauty pageant does not demean your intelligence or stature – if at all, it helps you use your looks and personality for a larger good. Details regarding the pageant, which will be open for girls between 17-27 years of age, and will be held at the historical Jag Mandir in Udaipur on 27th February 2010, can be found on the website www.iam-she.com.”
The multi-talented diva-esque Sushmita Sen has always believed in wearing many hats and excelling in all that she undertakes. Be it winning the first Miss Universe crown for India, becoming a top-notch Bollywood actor, adopting a baby girl at the age of 24 or establishing a business house way ahead of most of her contemporaries, Sushmita has been a forerunner of sorts.
However, the Ex-Miss Universe’s heart was still pining to attain one particular thing: “I have always maintained that I am what I am because of Miss Universe, and I always wanted to take that association ahead in some way. Due to an array of reasons, it had remained a pipe dream till about 1 ½ months back, when Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organisation made a fateful call to me, asking if my company Tantra Entertainment Private Limited (TEPL) would like to become the India franchise owner for holding the preliminary to Miss Universe 2010, which also would entrust TEPL the responsibility of holding a national pageant to select Miss Universe India 2010? I have always believed that the universe conspires to give you what you really want, and that too all in good time. Well, I just had an exemplary revelation of the Universe’s way of working. What better an association could I have asked for?” smiles Sushmita, whose company has thus become the India franchise owner for holding the preliminary to Miss Universe 2010. Primarily into feature film production and distribution, TEPL has ventured into the pageant industry with this franchise and calling the national pageant.
Elaborating about this new business venture of hers, Sushmita says “We’ve launched a mother brand called ‘I AM’ – in keeping with my belief that every individual’s journey begins and blossoms forth from these two words, they’re what define you. This mother brand will work in several verticals, which will be disclosed in good time. However, to begin with, we’ve launched the vertical called ‘I AM She’, a refreshing new platform that will select the next Miss India Universe, who will represent India at the global Miss Universe® competition. ‘I AM She’ has found an able sponsor in the Alchemist group, a leading conglomerate in fields such as healthcare, real estate, F&B etc. We’ve also launched the CSR vertical called ‘I AM Foundation’ which will undertake several CSR initiatives, especially with the participation of the girls chosen as finalists for the Miss Universe India pageant. This year, we’ll be working closely with the Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Bal Asha Trust, The Research Society and The ANI Foundation.”
Having bagged the franchise, Sushmita has set her sights firmly on having the best of Indian girls/women get a chance to represent the country on the prestigious platform. “I have been closely involved in the process of choosing the perfect girls, and by perfect I do not mean just physically perfect. We’re looking for girls who have a balanced body and mind, a strong set of values, confidence, and intelligence. More so, I want the participants to be highly people-oriented - they should be able to connect with all kinds of people in a genuine way. I’ve been very keen on inducing academically oriented and highly qualified girls in the pageant, because, I want to send out the message that participating in a beauty pageant does not demean your intelligence or stature – if at all, it helps you use your looks and personality for a larger good. Details regarding the pageant, which will be open for girls between 17-27 years of age, and will be held at the historical Jag Mandir in Udaipur on 27th February 2010, can be found on the website www.iam-she.com.”
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