AS MALLS set their sights on locations outside Cebu City, franchise businesses are also given the chance to reach more consumers in the far-flung communities.
Rudolf Kotik, founder of RK Franchise Consultancy Inc., said the franchising industry continues to grow and has been flourishing, especially in today’s digital age.
“Every year, we keep on growing. As malls are built in provinces, franchise businesses can now penetrate the market there and are present in territories not expected before,” said Kotik, who is also the founder of the Filipino International Franchise Association (Fifa).
Because of this, brands that are often just experienced if people will go to the city are now within reach.
“This is a good development for provinces and small communities, which now have the accessibility to get brands that they weren’t able to have before,” Kotik said.
He noted this made franchising more in demand now compared to the previous years.
“Community malls started three to four years ago. Before, it was all the big malls and people from the provinces had to go to the city for shopping. Today, they now have little malls which give opportunities for franchisees to set up shop in small areas,” he said.
Social media also played a big role for the franchising industry to flourish because of the platforms that can market products not only locally but most importantly, globally.
Franchising is a form of business by which the owner (franchisor) of a product, service or method obtains distribution through affiliated dealers (franchisees).
Franchise expo
In the last three years, Kotik’s company has been going abroad to promote franchising in the Middle East, Australia, New Zealand and other countries in Asia, which have huge Filipino populations.
On Sept. 27 to Sept. 29, 2019, Kotik announced, Fifa will hold the 20th Cebu Franchise Expo at the SM City Cebu Trade Hall.
It will showcase business concepts ideal for the fast-growing markets in the different sectors like schools, convenience stores, food carts, restaurants, health and beauty wellness, cafes, bakeshops, logistics and petroleum.
The country’s franchising industry is seen to grow 25 percent in 2019, driven by growing purchasing power, the spread of jobs outside cities and the continued growth of homegrown brands.
Kotik said franchising remains to be an attractive entry to business because of its proven system and business model with a 95 percent success rate compared to putting up a business from scratch.
The Philippines is so far the most successful country in the Asean, as far as franchising is concerned with at least a thousand established franchisor companies, whose growth in franchise businesses are spread across the country. (JOB with KOC)