At the Coffee Beanery in Warren, hard times mean fewer customers and more job applicants.
“I have 10 people coming in every day asking for jobs,” said owner Michelle Garcia, “and I can’t even afford to pay the four people working here.”
Although the store has managed to stay afloat after a “drastic” decline in customer sales this fall, other Metro Detroit franchises have been shuttering their doors, and new numbers from a franchise trade group say there are more closings to come.
The franchise industry expects to shrink by 10,000 establishments nationally, or 1.2 percent, in 2009, according to a new report from the International Franchise Association. Jobs in franchise businesses will fall by 2.1 percent, for a loss of 207,000 jobs. Overall economic output, which includes sales, is expected drop 0.5 percent, or $4.2 billion, to $835 billion from $839.2 billion in 2008.
Though the association doesn’t keep state-by-state data, Michigan’s weakened automotive economy is bound to hurt the franchise businesses that support and maintain autos, such as repair shops, car detailing services and car washes.
“Definitely the coming year is going to be a bit challenging for that segment,” said John Reynolds, president of the association’s Educational Foundation. Read more.
