Poughkeepsie Journal:

The nation’s franchise businesses are preparing for economic challenges in the New Year.

The industry is expected to experience a decline in the number of establishments, jobs and economic output in 2009, according to a report released today by the International Franchise Association’s Educational Foundation.

Despite this outlook, franchise business leaders remain cautiously optimistic about the prospects for their own businesses, the report found.

The Franchise Business Economic Outlook for 2009, prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, forecasts that the number of business format franchise establishments will decline in 2009 by 1.2 percent, from nearly 865,000 to less than 855,000 — a net loss of some 10,000 establishments.

Jobs in franchise businesses are expected to fall by 2.1 percent, for a loss of 207,000 jobs.

Overall economic output, the gross value of goods and services produced by franchise businesses, will likely decline by 0.5 percent — a loss of $4.2 billion in 2009.

Franchise Key:

Last month, Camp Bow Wow®, one of the leading franchisors of dog day care and boarding facilities, launched a new franchise opportunity targeting the in-home pet care market. With the number of households with multiple pets continuing to grow, Home Buddies by Camp Bow Wow will provide customers a single solution for providing the highest quality home care for their pets.

According to the information provided, this new pet care concept will offer dog walking, pet sitting for dogs, cats, birds, fish, small mammals and reptiles, shuttle service to and from vet offices and Camp, grooming and training services, care for special needs pets, pet food delivery and pet waste clean-up services.

“This is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive pet care service opportunity in the country,” said Heidi Flammang, CEO and Top Dog of Camp Bow Wow. “Now pet parents can have one trusted, in-home pet care provider capable of delivering the same dependable service our customers enjoy at Camp Bow Wow locations around the country.”

Chain Leader:

Papa Bello isn’t exactly a household name in the United States. But that’s not going to stop the 20-unit quick-service pizza chain from making its mark abroad in the world’s fastest growing economy. The Las Vegas-based company announced it signed an area development agreement for 60 units in Shanghai, China, over the next three years. At least two franchised units will open this year, with the first slated to open Jan. 15. CEO Chase Canfield spoke to Chain Leader about why now is the right time for the upstart to move into China.

Why venture into China when Papa Bello is a small company and hasn’t really established itself in the United States?
No. 1, China’s middle class is the fastest growing middle class in the world. And they have a very entrepreneurial spirit and a sense of urgency for capitalization, and franchising has become one of the main interests of the Chinese investor. Food just happens to be the flavor of the year right now-food franchising.

This is not a fly-by-night, shoot-from-the-hip transaction. We’ve taken considerable efforts to forming relationships with our partners there–legal counsel, government officials, city officials–and really getting our strong foundation before we made the final decision to go ahead and jump in.

Read full post.

Chicago Tribune:

Wis-Pak Inc. subsidiary WP Beverages becomes the eighth largest Pepsi-Cola franchisee in the U.S. with the acquisition of a South Dakota company.

WP Beverages says it’s purchased Pepsi-Cola of Huron, S.D. Terms were not disclosed.

WP Beverages was created in 2004 with the acquisition of Pepsi-Cola of Madison and Pepsi-Cola of Rockford, Ill. WP also purchased Pepsi-Cola of Iron Mountain, Mich., in 2006.

Wis-Pak is headquartered in Watertown and is now one of the largest cooperative companies in the soft drink industry with production facilities in six locations throughout the Midwest and Southeast.

Franchising.com:

Today’s uncertain economy is forcing Americans to make difficult choices. Some decisions are being put off. However, in some instances, options are few. Action must be taken.

Consider families expecting a loved one to be released from the hospital in a wheelchair. While hospital stays are getting shorter, individuals requiring wheelchairs often need continuing treatment that can include visits to doctors or therapists several times a week.

These individuals not only need to regain access in and out of their homes, but they need to be able to maintain their personal freedom and independence without waiting days or even weeks for construction of a wood or concrete ramp.

American Ramp Systems, a manufacturer of low-priced steel ramps for disability access to residential and commercial buildings as well as special events is the only franchise concept of its kind – and one of only a few national ramp companies in the U.S. – serving this fast-growing market that will be further buoyed in the coming years by the graying of America’s estimated 78 million baby boomers. Read more.

BigNews.biz:

They hit the streets prior to the 2008 Holiday shopping season. You have probably seen the bright yellow trucks, taxi style top lights and slogans “When You Want It Now” and “No More Waiting for the Delivery Truck To arrive”. They are offering “Instant, On Demand” delivery service for both business and personal use.

Truxi’s founder, Mark Jans explained that you can now sell that gas guzzling SUV or truck and buy a fuel efficient car, or better yet that sports car you’ve always wanted and still have the ability to take home what you need now! You can unload your big SUV getting 15 mpg and buy a 35 mpg car and still have the capacity to haul stuff when you need it. While gas prices have recently dropped, they are sure to climb back up near the $4.00 mark like earlier this year. All of us were shocked spending $90 dollars or more for a fill up in a truck or SUV. Switching to a fuel efficient car could save as much as $50 dollars a week, and who couldn’t use $200 dollars a month right now. That’s over $2,500 a year. Even if you hired Truxi 10 times next year at $50 dollars a trip, you will still save almost $2,000 dollars.

Truxi will have trucks on the road 7 days a week and safely haul that new big screen TV, pick up plants at the nursery, or haul grandmas Lazy Boy to the nursing home. You don’t need to take time off work, wasting vacation time, waiting for a delivery truck to arrive in those infamous 8-12, or 12-5 time windows. We do it now! Our standard rates start at around $50 dollars for deliveries 10 miles or less and we will offer seasonal specials like hauling live cut Christmas trees less than 10 miles for $20 dollars. That’s a lot less than fixing scratches or cleaning the sap off of the roof of you new BMW.

RisMedia.com:

Forty-four years ago, the idea of forming a real estate company based on a 100% commission model was a radical concept-certainly nothing the industry had ever seen before. Today, decades after company Founder Dale Rector revolutionized the industry and put Realty Executives on the map, company President & CEO Rich Rector is keeping that spirit alive by reinventing the company with a fresh approach and a compelling value proposition.

When you’re fundamentally different right out of the gate, it’s hard to settle for anything else. As many companies adopted the 100% commission concept over the years, Rich Rector knew that the founding principles on which Realty Executives was created were something much deeper and more profound than a commission plan. “Our mission is to provide the best possible leadership, environment, support and tools for the Realtor who strives to be a productive professional in their career,” says Rector.

“It should not be news to anyone,” he explains, “that there has been an ongoing revolution in our industry in the areas of information technology, communication and delivery of services. However, one core theme endures, which is that easy access to helpful and relevant information, and guidance from knowledgeable professionals has compelling value to the consumer of real estate services. In 2005, we set about a process of reinventing our core support and communication services to do just that.”

Luckily, being a longtime part of the established company prepared Rector for the task with the gift of perspective. “We revolutionized the industry once before and we needed to make sure we continued to differentiate ourselves in a relevant and compelling way to do it again,” says Rector. “While we experienced significant growth during the last 15 years, I was keenly aware of the dangers of losing our differentiation in the industry as a result of the easy growth we all experienced.” In 2004, Rector challenged his leadership team to refocus and renew the brand.

According to Realty Executives Chief Operating Officer Glenn Melton, who joined the firm in 2005, “When Dale started the company, he built a company that catered to entrepreneurs who were capable of building a business and didn’t need a large bureaucratic burden. At the same time, those people sought low fees and an environment that offered real freedom to operate as they saw fit-and to do so in the company of other professionals.”

Read full post.

CITY A.M:

Half way through my meeting with Michael Elghanayan and Mourad Dine just before Christmas at their new restaurant Relais de Venise in the base of the old Stock Exchange building, a man walked in, wandered over and excitedly said: “I love this place, I go every time I am in Paris. When are you opening?” Dine handed him a business card told him that it would be the first week of January.

He looked thrilled. “We get that all the time,” Dine smiled. “It happens six or seven times a day.” Suffice to say, Relais de Venise is something of a phenomenon. For those unaware of it, the Paris original was founded in 1959 by Gineste de Saurs, mainly so he could sell his family’s wines.

He took over a failed Italian restaurant in the 17th arrondissement. As wine was his focus, he decided that the menu would be a pareddown brasserie effort – a starter of green salad with walnuts followed by sirloin steak and frites with its famous secret sauce.

The only choice was how the meat was cooked. For desserts, there were alternatives, but not many. Nobody could book, they just had to queue. He kept the decor (gaudy paintings of Venice, classic brasserie-style wood and mirrors, lampshades with gondolas on them), and even the name sign.

He stuck neon lettering saying “Son Entrecote” underneath. In one of those quirks of fate, it was a rip-roaring success. As it celebrates its 50th anniversary it is an honest-to-goodness Parisian institution.

People queue in all weathers for the experience.

Charming Eccentricity… read on.

The Irish Franchise Magazine:

Fortune Network Mortgages Ltd offer a unique opportunity to its prospective users by way of a revolutionary software system, F.O.R.T.U.N.E., which enables any user whether they are a qualified mortgage professional or have no experience within the industry, to sell mortgage or loan products.

Fortune Network Mortgages
FORTUNE provides the franchise owner with a platform to automatically call the leads which FORTUNE provide each and every month using a VoIP application which is built into the software, then to gather the relevant information from the client, FORTUNE then source the correct product for the client then its over to the franchisee to sell, it’s as easy as that.

Not having to go out to a clients home, no travelling involved, you are able to sell to anyone in the whole of the UK, no capping on territories.

FORTUNE NETWORK MORTGAGES has entered into the franchise market place, offering a route to market for entrepreneurs and business owners who are looking for an opportunity to establish a profitable business with franchise fees ranging from £2995 to £7995 and includes the FORTUNE operating system with all leads supplied. Do not look at the cost of the franchise as a franchise fee but a one off marketing fee witch provides all your leads for the lifetime of the business.

Check more about this franchise opportunity here.

Real Estate Genie:

Real estate and franchising are the two distinct terminologies which are really very dominating. Real estate really paves the way to make it really a rich affair. You can really make millions of dollars as far as the real estate is concerned. And the concept of franchising can also be implemented in real estate. However the meaning of the term franchising remain the same and it is implemented in the same way as the franchising any other thing.

There are so many points which are common as far as franchising is concerned. I must say that there are so many big companies in real estate. They are big but they find it really difficult to control the whole world. That is why they ask some one to take franchise. As a franchisee you will you will have to look out for the best plots. You will then have to let the company head office know about the plot.

If every body agrees then I am sure that you can proceed further to buy the plot. Once you buy the property your next step will be to build a good apartment or condo over it. You will definitely find out that there are many reasons for you to decide different kind of buildings for the plot. However you will have to make sure that you are able to find the exact plan which will prove to be successful. However you will definitely find that if you do not plan well then you will end loosing lots of dollars…