Archíve 12.2007

US based hotel chain, Hilton Hotels Corp., has reached franchise agreements to establish over 50 hotel properties in Russia, Central America and Britain. Hilton Hotels Corp. has partnered with London & Regional Properties Inc. to develop hotels in Russia, as well as partnering with Caribbean Property Group to build hotels in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Trinidad.

THE US-based specialty coffee retailer Gloria Jean's Coffees announced plans to spend RM15 million and team up with corporations to open 10 more outlets in the country next year.

29TH OF FEBRUARY - 3RD MARCH 2008
HELEXPO EXHIBITION CENTER, 39 KIFISSIAS AVENUE, MAROUSI.           Go Round the Franchise World in one...Exhibition
With Visitors and Exhibitors from Every Part of the Globe!

ST. PETERSBURG - Reflecting the popularity of new membership-based massage outlets, a new franchise will soon enter the market. Just a year after Massage Envy opened on Fourth Street N, Hand and Stone is shopping for a similar location.

Set your own hours as boss, but the costs can be high

Michael Whalen's road to franchise ownership started three years ago, when he was stuck in a corporate meeting in Arizona. A well-traveled director of print and document operations for 200 OfficeMax stores, Whalen took a break to check in on his son's fifth-grade basketball championship game back home in Stow.

BURGER KING has awarded development rights in Colombia for the cities of Medellin and Cali to the Medellin-franchisee group, KINCO S.A. The first restaurant is expected to open during the first half of 2008 in Medellin. Additional restaurant openings in Medellin and Cali are scheduled during the next two years.

The newest member of the Franchise Expo family of events encores in January 2008 at the Miami Beach Convention Center. With over 200 franchise companies at every investment level, coupled with the exciting growth of the southeast, FES will serve the southeastern United States, Latin America and the Caribbean.

Franchising is a well established method of doing business in New Zealand. According to a survey conducted by the Franchise Association of NZ Inc. in 2003 and sponsored by the National Bank of New Zealand, there are some 350 active franchise systems in NZ with a turnover of NZ$6.9 billion. On average, new franchisees are paying NZ $132,000.00 in start-up costs. It is estimated that there are some 41,000 people employed in the franchise industry. The growth rate for franchised and company owned units is in the order of 25% per annum.

The franchise sector should post 18.3% growth in revenues in the fourth quarter of this year as against the same period in 2006, according to a research disclosed by the Brazilian Franchising Association. The number of franchise shops should grow 3.6% between October and December.

10th Annual Franchising China Conference & Exhibition wrapped up its tour of China recently, attracting 24,274 potential franchisees to its exhibitions in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing - up 12 percent from 2006. One exhibitor, Ines Vedovelli, president of Gustomenta, a Beijing-based Italian gelato franchisor, said: "The visitors are really interested in franchising. They're not just coming to gather information. We went to a franchising show two weeks ago and it was a completely different situation. This show is much better."

Whitbread and OJSC Rosinter Restaurants Holding “Rosinter” (RTS:ROST) have today announced they will launch the Costa Coffee shop chain in Russia via a Joint Venture. Rosinter is the leading casual dining restaurant chain in Russia and CIS, operating 216 restaurants in 8 countries and 24 cities.

Used intelligently and with care, brokers can provide value. They can be a source for new franchise prospects, and while they add a significant cost to the sales effort, one can argue that they earn their compensation only when someone closes on a deal. Brokers also can bring franchisors franchise candidates that for some reason were not attracted to the franchisor's advertisements or other marketing efforts.

RE/MAX ARABIA, a master franchise of the RE/MAX franchise network in the Middle East has announced its participation in Oman's first 'Franchise Expo' as Silver Sponsor. Organised by Oman International Trade & Exhibitions the event is scheduled to take place from February 13 to 16, 2008 at the Oman International Exhibition Centre. RE/MAX ARABIA is scouting the sultanate on the look out for qualified prospects in Oman to start a RE/MAX Franchise.

Russia's tax authorities have demanded millions of dollars worth of back taxes from the local operations of McDonald's, sparking fears that they plan a new wave of claims from both Russian and foreign-owned companies.

November 14 - 16 the third international specialized exhibition “Franchising 2007” took place in exhibition center "KievExpoPlaza" in Kyiv. The trade fair was supported by the Ukrainian Franchising Association, Ukrainian League of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Ukrainian Fund of Entrepreneurship Support.

The burgeoning franchise and retail industry in India was brought under the scanner at the Indian Franchising and Retailing Summit. Organised jointly by the Franchising Association of India and Franchise Plus, the Summit was held in Mumbai on November 30 and December 1, 2007. The two-day Summit offered a common platform to experts from national and international franchise and retail industries to congregate and share their experience and knowledge.

Don't waste your money on pre-packaged business plan software products. These products are self contained and limited to use and formatting. Business Planning starts with your idea as a base. Here's everything you need to capitalize on your business idea of a lifetime. Investing your own money, the money of others and the next several years of your life ... this is no time to hip-shoot. You're taking enough risk just building your business !

However, the "old" Europe's distaste for launching a new business could soon find itself sweetened, according to another report released by the European Commission, the EU executive body, on Monday. According to the report, the average cost of setting up a new company in the 15 states which joined the EU before 2004 fell from 813 euros ($1,150) to 554 euros between 2002 and 2007.

A new franchisor will often find the nature of his relationship with his franchisee to be unique and even, on occasion, daunting. While you will have the right and the obligation to enforce system standards, your franchisee will often view themselves as an independent business (which they are) with the ability to call their own shots (which they are not). And while the relationship is contractual in nature, if you are ever forced to bring out the contract, the relationship is already in jeopardy.