Franchising

                                     

Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its business model, brand, and rights to sell its branded products and services to a franchisee. In return, the franchisee pays certain fees and agrees to comply with certain obligations, typically set out in a franchise agreement.

The word franchise is of Anglo-French derivation—from franc, meaning 'free'—and is used both as a noun and as a (transitive) verb. For the franchisor, use of a franchise system is an alternative business growth strategy, compared to expansion through corporate owned outlets or "chain stores". Adopting a franchise system business growth strategy for the sale and distribution of goods and services minimizes the franchisor's capital investment and liability risk.

Franchising is rarely an equal partnership, especially in the typical arrangement where the franchisee is an individual, unincorporated partnership or small privately held corporation, as this will ensure the franchisor has substantial legal and/or economic advantages over the franchisee. The usual exception to this rule is when the prospective franchisee is also a powerful corporate entity controlling a highly lucrative location and/or captive market in which prospective franchisors must then compete to exclude one another from. However, under specific circumstances like transparency, favourable legal conditions, financial means and proper market research, franchising can be a vehicle of success for both a large franchisor and a small franchisee.

Thirty-six countries have laws that explicitly regulate franchising, with the majority of all other countries having laws which have a direct or indirect effect on franchising. Franchising is also used as a foreign market entry mode.

The boom in franchising did not take place until after World War II. Nevertheless, the rudiments of modern franchising date back to the Middle Ages when landowners made franchise-like agreements with tax collectors, who retained a percentage of the money they collected and turned the rest over. The practice ended around 1562 but spread to other endeavors. For example, in 17th-century England franchisees were granted the right to sponsor markets and fairs or operate ferries. There was little growth in franchising, though, until the mid-19th century, when it appeared in the United States for the first time.