Francorp Client - Zoom Room Featured on Animal Planet!

Mark your calendars for Saturday, March 14th at 9 pm.

The Zoom Room will be featured as the training locale for the hit series It's Me or the Dog on Animal Planet, a training show in which dog trainer Victoria Stillwell helps out hapless dog owners.

The show's producers contacted the Zoom Room because of our fun, sporty atmosphere, and thought that an indoor training facility would provide the owners of Mr. Black, a Beagle mix, with an opportunity to practice his newly acquired obedience skills outside the house.

We don't want to give away the ending, but we will say that Mr. Black deftly worked his way through a series of skill tests with both Victoria and his owners. We were thrilled to meet Victoria and host such a positive dog show, which emphasizes relationship building between owner and dog. Check us out Saturday, March 14th at 9pm!

And speaking of our training facility, in case you were ever wondering how the Zoom Room maintains its commitment to running a conscientious, environmentally-friendly and responsible play place for dogs, we've just added an article to our blog about our green products and practices - please check it out if you're interested!

All best,
Your friends at the Zoom Room
www.ZoomRoomOnline.com
(310) 636-4606

 

 

 

Francorp Middle East

Franchise demand in UAE to expand
Armina Ligaya

Last Updated: March 02. 2009 10:12PM UAE / March 2. 2009 6:12PM GMT
Customers line up at Popeye's, a fast food outlets. Experts say franchising is likely to expand this year as people seek alternative forms of income. Jaime Puebla / The National
DUBAI // The franchising industry in the UAE will continue to grow in the coming year as regional investors shift away from property and financial markets, and out-of-work executives seek new forms of employment, industry insiders say.

“The potential for growth is there,” said Matthew Shay, president and chief executive of the International Franchise Association, on the sidelines of the Franchise Middle East Exhibition in Dubai. “From what we’re hearing from our members, [the UAE] is still a positive climate.”

The US market, valued at US$1 trillion (Dh3.67tn), was forecasted to see declines of 1 to 2 per cent in 2009, according to a study conducted by the IFA and Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Mr Shay said.

However, he expects the UAE market to have a brighter outlook due to relatively easier access to credit and its role as the gateway to the region. Mr Shay estimates the UAE franchising industry, valued at about $30 billion, will grow between 5 and 8 per cent.

“This is one of those places that you can’t skip; you have to do business here,” he said.

Local investors are also looking to get into the franchising game as the traditional investment avenues such as property and the financial markets are less stable, said Imad Charafeddine, managing partner of the UAE branch of Francorp, a franchise consultant.

He said franchise inquiries have increased by 20 per cent in the past two months.

It is a similar pattern at the Kuwait-based Middle East Franchising consultancy, which has seen a 25 per cent jump in inquiries, according to its deputy chief executive, Barrak Al Homaisi.

“A lot of people who have lost their jobs and have a good amount of savings are looking to start their own business,” he said.

Mr Shay said typically in economic downturns, as unemployment rates go up, more people look to start their own business, and franchises are an easy option. However, he said recent studies in the US show access to financing will drop by 30 per cent in the next year.

“This [crisis] is an opportunity for franchises, but the rub is lack of access to credit.”

Mr Charafeddine said this is less of a problem in the UAE because Emiratis can secure funds from Government agencies and expatriates with a business background can still be granted start-up funds.

In the past five years, the UAE industry has grown by about 25 per cent to roughly 400 franchising systems, said Sary Hamway, the Dubai-based chief executive of FranExcel, a franchise consultancy that organised the World Franchise Forum alongside FME.

Franchise inquiries have gone up, he said, but investors were more hesitant to buy.

“It will continue to grow,” he said. “Retail franchises are good because it is medium-risk, and medium investment.”

Darren Smith, manager of retail and marketing support with Emarat’s coffee chain Bakeria, said the tightening credit markets have also helped to bring down the cost of rent. Outside of the major city centres, some rents have gone down from Dh350 a square foot to Dh150, he said.

“Now, suddenly, you’re hearing a word you haven’t heard before from landlords: negotiate.”

Global brands are now clamouring to enter the region to access the strong demand for international food brands, said Steve Rothenstein, the international operations manager for tasti D-lite, a US chain of low-fat yogurt stores.

“In the UAE, the people like their food brands from around the world,” he said. “It’s a great area to do business — friendly, ease of entry, and they know what they’re doing here in terms of infrastructure.”

Francorp to Present at the New York Restaurant Show on How to Franchise

Francorp International Consulting firm to present on franchising and how to franchise at the New York International Foodservice Show. Francorp works closely with the New York Foodservice show to educate and assist restaurant owners and business owners in the evaluation of franchising as an expansion option.

Several Francorp clients and former clients will also be taking part in the show including Uno Chicago Grill, Buffalo Wild Wings and McDonald's . Francorp Executive Vice President Thomas DuFore will be handling the workshops and presentations during the week in New York.

Francorp is headquartered in Chicago, IL but operates out of 22 offices globally and does work for franchise companies in over 40 countries around the world.

Below are the details and featured events during the show. For more information on Francorp and Francorp's development work visit the corporate site, www.francorp.com.

Intl. Foodservice Show of NY opens today
01 Mar 2009
The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York starts today at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. The show runs March 1-3 and features National Restaurant Association chairman Michael Kaufman as the keynote speaker. Kaufman's address, America's Restaurants - Serving our Nation, will be held at 1 p.m.

Educational sessions for the day include:
"Menu Targeting Trends: See what Generation Y and the Millenials are Eating Before they Hit Your Market," presented by Rob Harison, a chef with Princeton University Dining Services - 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
"Fast Casual - Changing the Way America Eats," a panel discussion hosted by Linda Duke, CEO of Duke Marketing. Panelists include Paul Barron, publisher of Fast Casual magazine; Ed Frechette, senior vice president of Au Bon Pain; Louis Basille, CEO of Wildflower Bread Company; and James Strobino, SVP, new concept development, Uno Chicago Grill - 2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.
"6 Reasons Why You Should Franchise Your Restaurant," presented by Tom Dufore, executive vice president, Francorp - 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Co-located with this year's event is the New York Pizza Showcase. The showcase features performances by the U.S. Pizza Team and the Hall of Fame Award presentation. Dom DeMarco of Di Fara's Pizza and chef Santo Bruno of Marsal & Sons are recipients of this year's awards.

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Francorp Consulting

Francorp is the world's largest and most experienced franchise develpment and consulting firm. Francorp has a responsibility to work with all of the world's small and medium sized businesses to help them understand and explore the concept of franchising their businesses as a way to grow.
Francorp is the largest franchise consulting firm in the world and has the resources to be at all of the world's major franchise and small business exihibitions. This weekend Francorp is working with the New York Restaurant Show and convention to educate the successful restauranteurs in the North East about franchising and help them evaluate the concept of franchise development.

Francorp will be presenting to the restaurant owners at the show on how franchising works and whether the expansion vehicle could be an opportunity for some of the business owners at the show. Francorp has done business in the northeast with many of the successful food franchise concepts and restaurants. For more information on Francorp and the work that the global firm has done please visit the Francorp site, www.francorp.com

Francorp was founded in 1976 and has worked with most of the world's largest and most successful franchise systems. Francorp was founded by Don Boroian and continues to lead the franchise marketplace through the United States and around the globe.

How to Franchise

The Rules: Trade SecretsA business's trade secrets are often vital to its success. It is an understood rule that franchisees will keep trade secrets strictly confidential. This not only protects the franchise, but it also protects the franchisee's individual investment.
Most states have adopted some version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which helps identify the parts of the franchise system that may constitute a trade secret. To see a list of those states that have adopted it, U.S. Trade Secret Protection by State. Proprietary systems and franchise information that doesn't fall under the category of a "trade secret" should be treated as such regardless, because it may still be protected under the restrictive covenants of the franchise agreement.

How to Franchise

The Rules: Restrictive CovenantsThe success of most franchises is based on the operating systems, methods, and products produced. For this reason, franchisors must protect their proprietary information and trade marks. In order to do this, they establish restrictive covenants for their franchisees. These covenants govern the things a franchisee can do.
For example, one restrictive covenant may state that the franchisee cannot operate another similar business that would compete with the franchised business during the term of the franchise agreement. These are called in-term non-competition covenants. There may also be post-term non-competition covenants that prohibit the franchisee from operating a similar business even after the terms of the franchise have expired. Each state, however, has its own laws regarding the enforcement of non-competition covenants. Often, in-term covenants can be more readily enforced than post-term covenants.

What is Franchising?

What is Franchising?

Imagine that you're opening your own McDonald's. To do this, you have to buy a McDonald's franchise. In order to qualify for a conventional franchise, you have to have $250,000 (not borrowed). Your total costs to open the restaurant, however, will be anywhere from $685,750 to $1,504,000, which goes to paying for the building, equipment, etc. Forty percent of this cost has to be from your own (non-borrowed) funds.

You'll pay an initial franchise fee of $45,000 directly to McDonald's. The other costs go to suppliers, so this is the only upfront fee you pay to McDonald's. Then, you'll go through a rigorous nine-month training period where you'll learn about the McDonald's way of doing things -- things like their standards for quality, service, value, formulas and specifications for menu items, their method of operation, and inventory control techniques. You'll have to agree to operate the restaurant from a single location, usually for 20 years, following their guidelines for decor, signage, layout and everything else that makes McDonald's McDonald's.

Once you've completed training and are ready to go, McDonalds will offer you a location they've already developed. The exterior of the building will be complete, but you will have to take care of interior additions such as kitchen equipment, seating and landscaping. You'll get constant support from a McDonald's Field Consultant, who can advise you on details and will visit regularly. You'll pay McDonald's a monthly fee of 4 percent of your sales, and either a flat base rent or a percentage rent of at least 8.5 percent of your sales. How much money you make depends on many things, including the location and its popularity, the efficiency of your operating costs, and your ability to manage and control the business.

Think of franchising as paying someone for his or her business strategy, marketing strategy, operations strategy, and the use of his or her name. That's pretty much what franchising is -- you are establishing a relationship with a successful business so you can use its systems and capitalize on its existing brand awareness in order to get a quicker return on your own investment. You are using its proven system and name, and running it by its rules.
Are you still your own boss? In some respects, no. You still have to answer to someone else and follow his or her direction. You don't really own the business; you own the assets you've purchased in order to establish the business.