Franchise Talk

Franchising: The Secrets Of A Winning Franchise Operation

June 27th, 2008 | Author: Jack

Dawn Gibbins MBE will shortly unveil a revolutionary concept in consumer seamless flooring – Barefoot – to be sold through a national network of franchisees across the UK. We asked her to share her perspective on franchising – and the essential ingredients for success…

Franchising: philosopher’s stone or millstone?
The philosopher’s stone, so the early mystics and alchemists believed, was a magical substance capable of creating gold. Looking at the published statistics on the UK franchising sector, you could be forgiven for thinking that the stone really exists – it’s called franchising.

Just look at what the 2007 NatWest survey revealed:

* The franchise sector grew twice as fast as the UK economy (UK growth of 2.7 per cent compared to 4.9 per cent for the franchising sector)

* The sector was worth a record £10.8bn (up to £12.4bn this year, according to the British Franchise Association)

* The sector has grown 44 per cent in ten years.

What’s more, the sector created 7,000 new jobs in 12 months, and 93 per cent of franchises are profitable operations (compared with two-thirds of all new businesses going bust within two years).

And, although the sector is maturing, there is still plenty of room for growth. The Australian franchising marketplace, by comparison, turns over more than $80bn (£38.8bn), representing 12 per cent of the nation’s GDP.

Good news all round. But what differentiates the real winners? What’s to stop a philosopher’s stone from turning into a millstone round the necks of both franchisor and franchisee?

How to make franchising work… read on.