Franchising traces its roots back to ancient China. It is a system for expanding a business and
distributing goods and services. It is a marketing method, which has been called by many business
experts, ‘the greatest marketing strategy ever created’. It is a program that creates amazing
opportunities for business ownership and personal wealth.
In the United States, only 8% of retail businesses are franchised. The amazing fact is that the 8% of
franchised businesses do over 40% of the retail sales in the United States. Franchising has the ability
to capture more of the market share. The increased market share is due to three main attributes comprising
a franchise:
- A brand name - Even a newer brand name usually has an advantage over an unaffiliated business.
- A successful business system - The proven system allows franchisees to follow a successful
plan with a high success rate. The franchisee can also enjoy cost savings as a result of the buying
power of the franchise.
- A support system - The franchise will have the expertise of successful franchisees and
franchisor to help them succeed. They are not in business alone.
Sometimes franchising is referred to as an industry, however, it is more so a complete marketing
system. More than 80 industries use franchising to get their products, services and brand names to
the consumer. Restaurants account for only about one third of the available opportunities, and more
than half of franchises available have initial investment levels below $100,000.