How has franchising come through the recent economic downturn? Patricia Moore checks out the state of the industry and gathers advice for future franchisees from the nation’s franchise experts.
In a somewhat tumultuous year for business, interest in becoming a franchisee rose considerably. Redundancies, and the realisation by many people, that while they still had a job, it was by no means secure, were big drivers.
“The number of people interested in franchising, and the quality of those potential franchisees, was probably the best many of our members have experienced for some time,†says Franchise Association executive director, Graham Billings.
Simon Lord, publisher of Franchise New Zealand magazine and website, says the demand for free copies of the magazine is also an indication. “By the end of August last year we’d had as many requests for copies of the magazine as we did for the whole of 2008.†And, he’s seen a “quite dramatic increaseâ€, since around October last year, in the level of interest in specific opportunities on the website.
Interest has also been high at Franchise Expo Australia and New Zealand, says owner Elton Williams. “The New Zealand website was launched just on a year ago and has attracted 47,000 unique visitors.â€
And if that doesn’t demonstrate the level of interest enough, the Franchise New Zealand website, which has been around a lot longer, has approximately 100,000 visitors per year.
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