International Franchise Articles

In 2008 we dodged an international financial meltdown. In 2009 we saw the technical end of the second-longest-running recession in U.S. history. In 2010 we are wrapping up the first year of the recovery in a less-than-robust fashion. Let's look ahead to 2011 and what is in store for franchising and, in particular, access to capital.

Pierre Panos, a South African native of Greek descent, leaves little to chance. When the violence in his country became too dangerous in the early 1990s, Panos--a former Coopers & Lybrand accountant who'd followed his father into the restaurant and real estate industries--wanted to emigrate to a country where he and his family could be safe and settle for good.

Restaurant franchisees gathered in New York last month for the International Restaurant & Foodservice Show. The event typically attracts restaurant owners and partners (34% of attendees last year were from the restaurant industry and 40% of these individuals were managers and key decision makers) who come to bone up on the latest strategies, techniques, and technology. There's always plenty to see and do at the event.

Jim Carroll loves to predict where the world is going. As such, he has become one of the world's leading international futurists, trends, and innovation experts. His analysis digs deep into topics such as technology, business model change, fast paced innovation, and global challenges and growth. He's been in demand with such clients as Northrop Grumman, Visa, Rockwell Collins, Lincoln Financial, and the Walt Disney organization. He was featured as an innovation expert on the global CNBC show, the Business of Innovation, and was named one of four leading sources for insight into innovation by Business Week magazine.

Gina Puente learned about hard work, tenacity, and the power of cash at the feet of her father, "working" in his office equipment business from the age of eight... when she wasn't busy with commercials and pageants.

The remarkable change in his life is not lost on John Betz. It seems one day he was wearing a three-piece suit and hopping a private jet to meet with telecommunications industry clients, and the next thing he knew he was wearing shorts and rolling pretzel dough behind the counter of his first Auntie Anne's Pretzels.

Sean Tuohy, entrepreneur, NBA broadcaster, and subject of The Blind Side, J. Patrick Doyle, CEO of Domino's Pizza, futurist Jim Carroll, and John DiJulius, customer experience speaker, author and consultant, will be the four keynote speakers at the 2011 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference, April 27-29 at The Venetian in Las Vegas. The annual conference is organized by Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine, and the 2011 theme is, "What's Next. Plan Tomorrow Today."

Tulsa resident Bill Ramsey had worked hard in the international manufacturing business all his life, and was a bit disappointed when he learned that none of his five children were interested in following him into that industry. He didn't have a lot of family growing up, so he was determined to keep his close.

Gina Puente learned about hard work, tenacity, and the power of cash at the knees of her father, "working" in his office equipment business from the age of eight... when she wasn't busy with commercials and pageants.

Spread across the following pages of our annual Dominators issue are the rough-hewn tales of seven multi-unit franchisees who have worked smart and played hardball to create large, successful franchise organizations. These operators are not afraid to take risks if the payoff means a bigger slice of the market pie. We interviewed these seven savvy operators and asked them to share their strategies, philosophies, and personal approaches to running their organizations.

Opening franchise units in nontraditional locations has been the domain of specialists--but not anymore. With the economy still slumping, lending still tight, and suburban expansion at a standstill, many multi-unit franchisees are exploring the viability of sites such as airports, hotels, colleges, senior centers, highway rest stops, hospitals, and military bases.

Economic realities have been harsh, lenders stingy with money, and many suburban territories unavailable or overbuilt. These are just some of the reasons a few multi-unit franchisees are turning to opportunities in nontraditional locations. Many franchises have potential in places that have not historically been franchise hotbeds, like airports, hotels, colleges, senior centers, highway rest stops, hospitals, and military bases.

Edvin Rajauskas and Val Kirielius have come a long way to open their first Buffalo Wings & Rings franchise location - all the way from Lithuania to be exact. The two Lithuania natives formed a partnership that has them destined for the American dream. Just last month, the two opened their first Buffalo Wings & Rings restaurant in Springdale, Ohio. They are excited about their new franchise and say growth is on their minds.

In 1998, a young Canadian attorney named Fiorenzo Bresolin traveled to Florida to work on a large real estate transaction. It wasn't long before he fell in love with the state--and its booming real estate business. The outgoing corporate lawyer went on to develop, along with partners, a 500-acre corporate park in South Florida owned by the late Mel Simon of the Simon Property Group; today he's knocking on doors to place his restaurants in some of those malls.

A couple of weeks before any speaking engagement, I distribute a 10-question survey to the meeting participants so I am well prepared to cover their most pressing concerns. One of the questions I ask is: "What is your best source for new employees?" Some of the possible answers are: "billboards, internal promotion, the Internet, job fairs, newspapers, referrals, schools, signage, and walk-ins."

If the standing-room-only educational sessions weren't enough to inspire the multi-unit franchisees, the spirited address from NFL Hall of Famer Mike Ditka certainly was. It was all part of the 2010 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference held this past March in Las Vegas at the Mandalay Bay.

In the late 1970s, David Griffin set out to build an auto detailing business. Some years later, he found himself at the helm of a large, scattered operation. He'd opened five separate locations in Utah, including a large central complex, along with an independent chemical business and distribution center that provided the materials he needed to clean vehicles for local retail consumers, car dealers, and the large, national Manheim auto auction company.

German beer makers are often cited as the originators of franchising. Dating back to 1800s Europe, many beer makers granted pubs and taverns the rights to sell and use their name. In fact, the word "franchise" is a French derivative meaning privilege or freedom.

After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania and Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, Danny Sonenshine quickly found himself working as a litigator and transactional attorney at major firms in Orange County. It didn't take long for the Laguna Beach native to realize a few things about himself--realities that led him to leave the practice of law after six years for the very different field of franchising and restaurants.

Bret Hooppaw, Luihn Food Systems' director of operations, had an "Aha!" moment when his 19-year-old daughter said she'd applied online for a summer job. When he asked, "Why don't you just go over there and apply in person?" her response was, "Nobody does it that way anymore, Dad." That's when Hooppaw, who helps oversee 90 KFC and Taco Bell locations, realized instant communication technologies are second nature to the Millennial generation--those who make up most of today's frontline employees--who will be his managers 5 years from now and who will be the organization's leaders in the next 5 to 10 years. "I knew I had to find a way to meet them on their ground," he said.

Taking a franchise brand international is, in a sense, the final frontier for growth. It's where many franchise brands that have begun - and been successful - in the U.S turn when they seek expansion. It's a strategy that often occurs in part because of growth that has saturated domestic markets and territories. Typically, larger more established franchise brands begin looking across borders for untapped markets and potential growth. It's an expansion strategy that's not new. But during the past couple of decades as franchising has continued to grow as a popular business model, the international growth strategy has been on the rise. International franchising can also provide opportunities for new and existing franchisees looking for expansion options. There are opportunities as near as Mexico and Canada and as far as the Middle East. In one sense, international franchising can be a relatively smooth and easy process. After all, the franchise concept is built around infrastructure, simplicity, replication, and streamlined operations. What works in one place generally works in another. And many international markets are wide open and untapped and offer enormous potential for franchisors - with the right products, services, and business culture.

Social media, social networking, social marketing, social recruiting. Whatever you call these new connectivity platforms, they're sweeping the business world in 2009--much as the Internet and World Wide Web did circa 1995. Everybody wants in on the action, but no one is quite sure how. Okay, maybe some people know. We asked a few--and went online (of course) to find out more. We also pulled a few thoughts from "The Long Tail," a book by [i]Wired[/i] magazine Editor Chris Anderson on how Web 2.0 and social media have transformed marketing and sales.

Featuring: Tom Wood, President and CEO of Floor Coverings International, along with Franchisees: James Brooks of Flagstaff, Arizona and Jason Nichols of Toronto, Canada.

I just returned from the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas and, compared with the other industry conferences I've addressed so far this year, it was a welcome breath of fresh air. At other industry group presentations this year, attendance numbers were off (one conference was even cancelled at a tremendous cost to the organizer) and the prevailing mood at all of them could best be characterized as an oppressive atmosphere of economic uncertainty and pessimistic forecasts. Not so with the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference group of movers and shakers.

2008 was a big year for restaurant franchises to refranchise many of their corporate-owned units, according to a recent report from food service consultants Technomic. Top brands such as Applebee's, Pizza Hut, and KFC converted stores to franchisee operations.

Life has not been easy--personally or professionally--for Chris Haque (pronounced Hawk), who was born in Dinajpur, Bangladesh. He was only 15 when his sister came to the U.S. for medical treatment for leukemia. Thanks to his gift of his bone marrow donation, she lived three more years before the disease took her.

John Hotchkiss was born in Pontiac, Mich., and grew up in San Antonio, Texas. But he likes to say he "was born" into franchising. "I started working in our stores when I was 9 years old and really enjoyed it. I learned in high school that it was a good business to own when I came home exhausted from a crazy, busy night at one of our stores and my dad was relaxing and reading a book on the back porch," he recalls. "He had 700-plus employees working hard that night making him money.

The current recession and credit crunch are putting the hurt on franchise businesses, says a new report by the International Franchise Association (IFA). There's no question that the franchising's economic growth and ability to create jobs has been hamstrung by the lack of available credit.

Just to let you know where I'm coming from when I talk about the five biggest mistakes I see franchisors making in today's tough economic times, I've been plying my trade for more than 20 years now, and well over 50 percent of my clients have been among the nation's foremost franchise organizations. I've been in the trenches with them during all kinds of economic scenarios--inflation, recession, expansion, steady-as-she-goes, and a couple of booms and busts.

For a man in the hospitality business who's traveled widely, Ted Torres didn't fall far from the tree, nor did he want to. "My father, a first-generation hotelier, was my mentor, teacher, coach, and partner," says Torres, who at 43 has been in the business for 20 years. His most far-flung project, building hotels for Hilton across Russia, never came to fruition--through no lack of willingness on his part--but it was a fabulous month-long adventure just the same.