The franchise business in Thailand is expected to grow by 17% this year to a value of 160 billion baht as more people look to earn more income by opening their own businesses.
The number of franchised outlets is likely to rise beyond 40,000 this year and employment to exceed 200,000 jobs, said Peerapong Kitiveshpokawat, director of the International Retail and Franchise Business R&D Center at Sripatum University.
A survey by the centre in 2010 found a total of 514 franchise operators in the country, 480 of which were Thai businesses, running a total of 26,922 outlets. Around 40-45% of the operators were in the food and beverage industry and approximately half of the business value came from convenience stores. More.