Franchise Opportunity Knocks!

At the Franchise Excellence Awards, my burning question to the organizers revolved around which franchised businesses were the success stories of the last year.

The Franchise Excellence Awards 2019 held last August was themed Building Legacies; and truly, it was a roll call of the most illustrious names who have helped make franchising here in the Philippines a success story for several decades now. And naturally if you’re talking about franchising here in the Philippines; the name, and presence, of Samson ‘Samie’ Lim, will be part of the scenario.

Known as the Father of Philippine Franchising, Samie has been the guiding light for the professionalizing and setting of standards for the franchising business here. A founding member of both the Philippine Retail Association (PRA) and the Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) and founder of FranCorp, Samie is widely regarded as the steadfast “guardian angel” of franchisers and franchisees alike.

But beyond the succession of ultra-successful franchises that were beckoned to the stage by perennial Franchise Association host Issa Litton, and the Hall of Fame atmosphere that pervaded, I was really taken by the conversation I had with Samie’s sons, Greg and Chris, PFA Executive Director Chit Estrada, and Alan Escalona. The man behind Fruit Magic, Pure Nectar, and quicklean, Alan is presently the Chairman of the Philippine Franchise Corporation. Greg Lim is involved with the family business Blim’s, while Chris is the President of U-Franchise.

I asked the four about the present success stories of the franchising “game”; as admittedly, the ones being called for the Excellence Awards were the big players, and substantial investments are required to set up a Jollibee or McDonalds franchise. And what they revealed involved some surprises for me—which I’m happy to share.

As the disposable income of the average middle class Filipino rises, pet centers that offer grooming and retail products related to pet care have blossomed. Pooch Park is one example of a pet grooming business that offers franchising opportunities.

Micro-lending is another growing business. Offering small loans at 16% to micro-businesses, there are over 900,000 such ventures registered; and more often than not, they rely on the 5/6 that charge 20 percent. Credit risk investigation and analysis are, I would presume, part of the franchising system being offered.

Mention was made of dialysis and diagnostics centers, where a high percentage of the billing is made directly to PhilHealth. And if it’s affordable food business, milk tea is back in the game, along with health juices.

Ufranchiseasia.com is the repository for all these registered franchise businesses; and you’ll find summarized most of the initial queries you’ll have, before making some decision on whether to pursue a particular franchised business.