Îin principle, it is possible to set up a franchise company in almost any industry. Îin Romania, most franchise systems come from the hotel and food sector. Doubling shops that sell coffee, burgers or pizza are particularly popular. In addition to national franchise systems such as Dabo Doner or Mesopotania, US fast food companies such as McDonald's or Subway are nationally renowned franchise systems in Romania. Îin the list of sectors with the most franchise companies, hotel and catering trade is closely followed by specialized and retail trade.

Îin general, service providers as well as digital or brick-and-mortar stores can expand through franchising - from health, fitness and sports to tutoring, aged care and delivery services to when selling real estate, fashion or furniture. The most important condition that must be met for a franchise company is a pilot operation that is already running successfully and demonstrates the competitiveness of the business idea. In order to be able to pass on its own tested concept to the young founders and thus to the franchisees, the future franchise company should also meet a number of criteria.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FRANCHISEE

To establish a franchise company, the franchisor must clearly define the corporate objectives in its concept, which all franchisees can subsequently achieve. The franchise manual, containing clear requirements for management, marketing and personnel for the company, helps in this regard. For example, specifications for events or trade show appearances are specifically formulated to be able to guarantee a uniform appearance of the entire franchise company. In addition, it is advisable to record your previous franchising experiences, acquired knowledge and franchise know-how in the manual to make it easier for your partners to start franchising. In addition, the financing of the franchise system is ensured in the medium term and there is a regular review of the finances of all franchise partners. This also includes the prior determination of the equity requirement that the potential franchisee must present in order to be allowed to enter the franchise company. At the same time, future partners must be informed of the outstanding license fees that are required in addition to equity. With these license fees, the franchisee buys the rights to use the brand from the franchisor – including the name, corporate design and products or services.

DIFFERENTIATION ÎBETWEEN FRANCHISE COMPANIES AND LICENSORS

However, a distinction must be made between a franchise company and a license provider. If there is a commercial license agreement, a company's license partner receives the right to use selected intellectual property rights for a predetermined fee. These can be patents, trademarks or software, for example. The difference with franchising is that the licensor has no other obligations in the form of support, training or other support to its contractual partners.

However, if along with the license basic know-how and initial assistance in implementing a business idea are offered, this is a so-called soft franchise system. Here there is only a short-term, superficial support that should help the licensee to start his own business. However, the franchisor and founder of the company can no longer intervene in the affairs of his partner. However, software franchising is often only used for very simple business concepts, narrow margins or a large number of licensing partners. It is not uncommon for such a licensing system to later develop into a franchise company.

THE FRANCHISOR ENSURES A UNIFIED COMPANY

For the whole company to remain successful in the long term after the establishment of the franchise, the franchisor must perform a number of tasks that, on the one hand, run the business and, on the other hand, supports franchisees. Even before implementing a franchise system, operational processes must be perfected and standardized so that the business model cannot be duplicated at all. All processes in the franchise system must be able to be carried out in the same way by each individual franchise partner in the new locations, so that the franchise company does not appear closed and uniform to outsiders eh.

Îduring the management of a franchise company, the franchisor's important activities include joint advertising planning - if necessary in cooperation with the appropriate agencies -, image cultivation, as well as training and continuous training of own franchisees and of their staff. The founder of the franchise company is also continuously responsible for the constant further development of the core concept, items and service, as well as for the quality management of the system.

THE ROMANIAN FRANCHISE ASSOCIATION SUPPORTS YOU IN ESTABLISHING YOUR FRANCHISE COMPANY

The Romanian Franchise Association offers both future franchisors and their partners comprehensive advice and valuable tips for setting up a franchise company. În the annual Franchise Forum you can exchange ideas with other franchise companies and listen to well-known speakers. In addition, the association offers a system check that serves the quality management of franchise systems. The Franchise Barometer, which is created annually, provides you with current statistics on the topic of franchising. In addition, the Romanian Franchise Association allows a wide range of cooperation with various promoters, sponsors and partners. Open Mind Better Future offers additional training opportunities for the entire franchise industry in Romanian-speaking countries. Îstart today and set up your îfranchise business.