Business Wire: Smoothie King Franchises, Inc., the originator of the nutritional fruit-based smoothie, today announced it has posted another record year in new franchise licenses, with a total of 129 signed franchise agreements in 2007. Despite economic conditions challenging the development of other... More

Irish Times: The first Irish franchise of an Australian shop specializing in storage products will open in Carrickmines, Dublin on May 24th. Olive Donovan, a former senior investment manager with Bank of Ireland, has acquired the master franchise for Howards Storage World and hopes to open 16 outlets... More

Bernama: Franchise industry in Malaysia has benefited from financing and advisory services provided by the SME Bank, a seminar was told. Shakey Pizza, Nelson’s, Avon, Ninety Zero One, Home Power and the latest, Laksa Shack are among the example of successful companies under the franchising scheme... More

BeTheBoss.ca: The idea of turning the ‘IQS‘ into a profitable franchising system was born in 2001, when a professional team, having experienced all aspects (commercial, technical, marketing, scientific and medical) of this innovative program aimed at defeating tobacco addiction, decided to launch... More

Smh Denis McFadden will soon open his first salon in India but he has even bigger plans, writes Ari Sharp. WHAT does a franchisor do once he has a network of almost 175 outlets across Australia and New Zealand under his banner? Head to India, of course. “The 300 million middle-class population... More

Smart Company: Costa Anastasiadis evolved his business from a single pizza shop into a 17 store franchise chain, with plans for 40, in just seven years. He shares his secret ingredient. Costa Anastasiadis, founder and managing director of gourmet pizza chain Crust, never wanted to be a pizza entrepreneur.... More

A true domestic goddess who swept away the competition has been named as a finalist in the British Franchiser of the Year awards. Businesswomen Pam Bader, of Vicarage Road, Maidenhead, has gained recognition from the British Franchise Association (BFA) after succesfully franchising Molly Maid Ltd in... More

Food Business: Restaurant chain Church’s Chicken has opened 99 stores in 2007, representing 7% unit growth globally. The brand opened 59 restaurants in the US and 40 restaurants internationally, and added 12 new domestic franchise partners in the process. In 2007, the brand implemented a new resource... More

The hospitality major Hilton Hotels Corporation has entered into an agreement to franchise Hampton by Hilton brand to Marigold Hospitality Ltd in India. Marigold Hospitality aims to franchise 16 hotels (approximately 2,000 rooms) under the Hampton by Hilton brand in India. The hotels will be managed... More

News: AT just 40 years of age, Ella Bache’s Karen Matthews is one of Australia’s younger chief executives and is charged with taking the established brand into the future. Before joining Ella Bache in 1999, Ms Matthews was international vice-president of fashion house Ferro Designs. She... More

Marks & Spencer (M&S) on Friday announced a 51:49 joint venture with Reliance Retail, part of the Reliance Industries Group, to set up a chain of Marks & Spencer stores in India. The JV company, M&S Reliance India, aims to open at least 50 new stores in India over the next five years.... More

Biz.Yahoo: Geeks On Call Holdings, Inc. a premier national provider of professional IT solutions to small business and residential customers through its trade name Geeks On Call, announced today the official launch of its corporate branch office in Northern California, serving the greater Sacramento... More