Two Way Franchise Boom in the Philippines

Major foreign brands such as International House of Pancake of Canada, Denny’s of the United States and Planet Smoothie are recognizing the Philippines as the most logical base for their operations in Asia according to this article. One reason is a record 30,000 visitors and 350 exhibitors anticipated at the 18th edition of the Philippine International Franchise Conference and Expo slated this July at the SMX Convention Center. This is double the number in the US Franchise Show, the biggest in the world.

This is not expected to be at the cost of local franchising in Manila. The Philippines has the second-highest number of franchisors globally at 775, and franchisees at 100,000. Many competitive Philippine brands have entered the foreign market in recent years— Jollibee, Max’s, Oishi, Red Ribbon. The foreign brands present competition for Philippine homegrown brands.

International Franchise Association elects New Board Member

The International Franchise Association's board of directors has elected ADIR Restaurants Corp. Pres. and COO José J. Cofiño as a new member. According to this article, "Cofiño serves on the board of directors of the IFA Diversity Institute and is a member of the Minorities in Franchising Committee. Pollo Campero is a participant in the IFA Educational Foundation's MinorityFran program, which aims to increase the numbers and success of minorities in franchising at all levels." The IFA was founded in 1960 and its membership consists of franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers. The group promotes franchising and is a source of information for anyone interested in starting a franchise.

Franchising Entrepreneur Finds a Way to Make Millions in a Bad Economy

The Dublin Franchise Sliderobes sells made-to-fit home improvement furnishings. Its owner Mick McAleese claims that he used the "serious" mistakes that his company made which included poor location choices and inadequate management to turn the business into a multi million business in the middle of Dublin's recession in 1983. According to this article, the company underwent a process of intense assessment and "saw franchising as a low-risk road to expansion.” McAleese explains the company's appeal to potential franchisees. “Our big sell when attracting franchisees was, ‘look, we’ve got this tried-and-tested business formula and we’ve made all the mistakes for you so you don’t have to. We’ve found the best way of doing things’”. When looking for the right franchisee, McAleese says the company looks for "franchisees with solid management experience." He believes that their experience best helps them cope with the challenges of running a business.

International Franchising-Franchisors are Spending Millions to Recruit Franchisees

Expos, word of mouth, internet marketing, magazine advertising and other techniques are part of the aggressive marketing techniques many Australian Franchisors are using in a desparate attempt to attract Franchisees. According to this article, a study by market research firm 10 Thousand Feet found the sector spent $44.4 million on marketing to franchisees in the year to September 2007. Many former stategies apparently did not focus on women who are now seen as a huge untapped market. Local mortgage broker Refund Home Loans, recently named Australia's fastest-growing franchise by outlets, targets recruits through TV info-mercials.