Posts Tagged ‘Recession Proof’

Restaurant franchise-is it right for you?

Saturday, April 25th, 2009

Studies of the most successful businesses have shown that the majority of these are franchises. Franchising is a strategy involving licensing of trademarks and this concept can apply to all kinds of products and services, such as the retail, restaurant and health and beauty sector. What is the secret of their success? Simply that the business has already been market tested, promoted and developed. Therefore, the foundations are already laid, the groundwork has been done and you have a business ready-to-go, with instant name recognition and built-in marketing. However, it is still essential to do some research on the business you are interested in, to ensure that you are familiar with the product or service being franchised and that you have seen how it is being implemented.

In the franchising sector, perhaps the most popular and successful are restaurant franchises. More than half of all restaurants in the United States are part of a franchise “family” and they account for around three-quarters of the revenue for the industry. Walk down any high street or visit any mall and you will always find at least one, often several, restaurant franchises. Restaurant franchises have shown themselves to be recession proof and there are many different opportunities to choose from. These include pizza, burger, fried chicken and other fast foods, healthy eating franchises, sandwich bars, coffee houses and many more. The successful strategy adopted by all of these companies and ensuring big profits is that of focusing on their customers’ wants and needs. They have learnt how to satisfy them and how to keep them coming back for more.

So, is restaurant franchising for you? There are pros and cons, according to your own particular circumstances. A restaurant franchise offers an instant business. The name, d

Restaurant Franchises – Thriving despite the recession

Thursday, April 16th, 2009

In this tough economic climate, starting a new business is a risky venture and this is particularly the case with restaurants, as customers cut back on luxuries such as eating out. However, restaurant franchising can offer an ideal business opportunity with minimal risks. Of course, no business is guaranteed to be recession-proof, but those which offer value for money while maintaining quality are still seeing growth. Fast-food firms are revealing record profits and increased sales as people turn their backs on costly restaurant meals and opt for good value, fun food. And these firms nearly all have one thing in common – they are run as restaurant franchises.

Franchises offering “comfort foods” are thriving particularly well and their resilience in the face of the downturn is very encouraging to would-be franchisees. After all, however bad the economic news, customers still want their morning coffee and donut and, whilst they are likely to be cutting down on the large spends, those little luxuries of life become more important. OK, maybe you won’t be taking that Florida beach holiday this year, but great coffee and delicious food that you can enjoy any time of day are still affordable for the majority and offer up a little consolation and reward for the hard-pressed worker or consumer.

For many well-known restaurant franchises, business is booming. In the UK, sales figures for pizza delivery firm Domino’s showed an increase of 15 per cent in January, traditionally the slowest month in the restaurant trade. McDonald’s have reported an increase in sales of 7.6 per cent in the final quarter of 2008, despite the credit crunch. Sandwich chain Subway has announced plans to open 600 new stores in the UK and Ireland, creating 7,000 jobs, and fried chicken chain KFC is planning to invest up to