Franchising–The first step towards Entrepreneurship

 

Franchising has been around for long. Many global brands such as Adidas, Benetton, Levis, Subway and a lot more have grown globally due to their extensive franchisee network. Even in India, Madura Garments (which owns brands such as Peter England, Louis Philippe, Van Heusen), Arvind Mills (Lee, Wrangler and Arrow), Nilgiris (a chain of Supermarkets), Gitanjali Limited (which retails brands such as Asmi, Gili, D’Damas, Lucera, etc.) Crossword Book stores, Barista (Café chain) and many other Retailers have grown their businesses through successful Franchisee Partnerships. Franchising offers a quick scope of expansion for the Retailer while the investment is incurred by the Franchisee. Many first timers and wannabe Entrepreneurs choose the path of Franchising because it is an easier model to crack – the brand (is usually) established and has equity in the market, which pulls footfalls in to the stores. In case the brand is relatively new, then the Franchise fee (usually a one-time fee paid by the Franchisor to the Franchisee) is low, keeping his / her investments within reach. Kaatizone, an Indian QSR chain with a presence largely in South India is on an expansion spree through Franchising. Mr. Kiran Nadkarni, CEO, Kaatizone told in an interview recently. “Franchising has helped us in two major ways: We have been able to generate momentum in expansion quickly. Secondly, the local entrepreneurial talent has helped manage the store operations and brand experience better. Since we are planning to set up a large number of stores, franchising is the best strategy for growth.” Kaatizone has 19 franchises in six cities now and is planning to expand across the country.

The gestation period for recovery of investment can vary from 6 months to 3 years, depending on the location of the store (Malls, High Streets, Corporate locations,etc.) product category, and Brand identity and recognition. Investments could vary from Rs. 5 lakhs to Rs. 2 Crores, depending on the Brand. Some Retailers charge a one-time Franchise Fee and others charge monthly/annual commission on Sales in addition.

Advantages of Franchising

Scalability of Business

The Franchisor would be able to scale up instantly by going through the Franchise model. The prospective Franchisees could be spread across the country and hence the business could be expanded quite fast. This is one of the most important reasons that Retailers choose to go the Franchising way.

Immediate availability of capital

The Franchisee brings in the additional capital that is required to invest and operate the business which is a very important factor for the Franchisor.

Day to-day Operations

Usually, the set-up costs, which are substantial are borne by the Franchisee. He also bears running costs such as daily operational expenses (manpower, electricity, housekeeping, interest on capital, depreciation, etc.)

Drawbacks of Franchising

Customer Touch-points

One of the biggest drawbacks in Franchising is that the Retailer usually loses touch with the customers. The front-end is managed by the Franchisee and hence the Brand doesn’t have much role to play in the Customer Engagement as such.

Loss of Operational Control

The daily operations are managed by the Franchisee. Although there are parameters which need to be followed, there are occasions when the Franchisee takes things under his control which could be potential threats in terms of running the business.

Loss of Focus

Once a Franchisee believes in the model, he / she expand their business across various brands and categories. Therefore, the required focus on the business may dwindle over a period of time. It is quite unlikely that the Franchisee would spend the same amount of time and effort on businesses that don’t yield similar returns.

FDI in Retail has already opened up for Single Brand Retail and the country is eagerly watching the Government’s steps towards their decision on allowing FDI in Multi-Brand Retailing. This is indeed a good time for individuals and entrepreneurs in the making to take their first steps towards Organized Retail through a Franchise Opportunity.

Best of Luck.

The Dangerous Minimum Guarantee Model in Retail Expansion

Aggressive store expansion means two things – heavy capital expenditure and lots of people to manage the stores. Every brand worth its salt wants to boast an extensive Retail store network across the length and breadth of the country no matter what the store level EBITDA is. While there are various ways to expand its network, some of the commonly used ones by Retailers are Franchising (more on that in my next column) and CoCo – Company Owned Company Operated model. While Franchising could mean faster expansion, there are chances that the Retailer may lose control on the quality of customer experience among other things. The CoCo model is very expensive to scale-up unless backed by a solid VC / PE Firm. One of the other means to raise funds for expansion is through the Capital Market – recently Specialty Restaurants that runs the Mainland China, Oh! Calcutta, Sigree and other restaurants debuted their IPO, the first of its kind in the F&B Industry in India (while Jubilant Foods which runs Dominos Pizza in India is also listed, it is not in the Restaurant business but into Casual Dining). Retailers like Café Coffee Day, Dominos, Foodworld, Spencers, Zara, Tommy Hilfiger and many others have invested heavily on their own in terms of store expansion across the country, while others like McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Madura Garments, Reebok, Adidas, Benetton, Nilgiris, etc. have taken the Franchisee model.

There is another alternate model – One of the easiest ways that a few Retail Brands have taken to, which is known as the “Minimum Guarantee” model where in a Second Party is appointed to manage the store(s) on behalf of the company while the Retailer itself invests on the business. Let me explain this in detail. Assume that the store fit-out costs for a 1,000 sft store is Rs. 40 Lakhs plus stocks to the tune of Rs. 50 Lakhs, then the Retailer invests Rs. 90 Lakhs to set up the store and also bears the Security Deposit to the landlord (6 – 10 months’ monthly rent).  Once the project work is completed, the store is handed over to a second party, also known as a Managing Partner or a Managing Franchisee who is responsible for the day-today upkeep of the store. All direct and operating costs such as manpower, electricity, rent and incidental costs are taken up by the Retailer and the Partner is also paid a lump-sum ranging from a few thousands to a couple of lakhs – just to operate the store everyday. The logic is, if there were to be an Area Manager to micro-manage the store (and a cluster of them in each city / region), then the costs would be substantially high. And hence the Managing Franchisee model. The partner also has sales based incentives, that is if the store achieves a set target, then he receives a further commission, usually as a percentage to sales. In many cases, the Partner leases his own property to the Retailer, which means the Rental income comes back to him! In a few cases, either the same partner operates through kith and kin or through friends and relatives who become partners! And then, there are incentives for introducing new partners and locations in other cities. This is indeed a vicious cycle.

In the name of faster expansion and quick growth, many Retail Brands have resorted to this practice. While there is nothing wrong in this approach, the Managing Partner usually gets the cake and eats it too. Without any investment, he has a full time job, a respectable retail profession and a handsome income too. While it is not clear whether the practice has been globally prevalent and if yes, from when – it is quite popular in the Indian Retail scenario over the past decade. While Retailers like Madura Garments have stuck to the tested Franchise model of “Buy and Sell” merchandise (that is the Franchise has to purchase all the merchandise with a small percentage of returns back to the company), others like Reebok, according to press and media releases in the recent past have opted the Management Partner model.

There is no correct or wrong way to expansion. As long as the means are ethical and law-abiding, there is no problem. But concerns arise when there is maniacal expansion with sometime, ulterior motives of helping / supporting some known people to become Management Partners. At the end of it, the Customer decides on the success or otherwise of the brand. And that’s what matters.

Apple–Smart Product or Smarter Retailer?

 

After a lot of careful consideration over the past few months, including reading various literature online and discussion with friends and users of the iPhone, I finally decided to take the plunge. Yes. Now I own an iPhone 4S 32 GB. So, what? Actually. It is just another phone, in my opinion. It is indeed a true case study of how an ordinary product can be made an extraordinary success with simple, yet effective Marketing. One must learn from Apple in this regard. Much has been written about the technical specifications, uniqueness and superiority of the iOS of the iPhone, the Siri and various other features and hence I wouldn’t delve into it. Nor am I a technology expert to rip through comparisons with an Android phone (from Samsung or HTC ) or a BlackBerry or a Windows Phone. Oh yeah, by the way there is Nokia too. Apple iPhone 4S, for me lacks some basic stuff – such as a favourite tune as an alarm; select many / select all in the email box to delete and many such small features. Wonder how the Apple engineers skipped these and a bigger wonder that Apple Marketers kept them low-key, promoting various other features. It is a good smartphone but can be a lot better. Will leave it there.

10 days ago, I ordered my iPhone online – through www.indiaplaza.com where I work. Not just because of a particular loyalty – but also because of the Price. The phone is about Rs. 2,000 (USD 40) cheaper while buying online, compared to the ones sold at an Apple Store or other Electronic Retail chains such as Croma (from the house of Tatas), Ezone (part of the Future Group), Reliance Digital, etc. Two months ago, I bought an iPod Touch (also from www.indiaplaza.com) and the price online was a lot cheaper – I got a 10% discount while the company was celebrating the birthday of Apple founder Steve Jobs. In my view, the iPods, iPhones and iPads should also be sold through Department store chains such as Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle too. After all, it is indeed a lifestyle product as promoted by Apple and not just merely a gadget. The Apple stores are more a novelty than being electronic stores. They are a lot more engaging, inviting and most importantly (well stocked). And I am referring this from an Indian context.

I visited the Apple Store twice in a span of two months to buy accessories for my iPod and iPhone. Every time, the staff have delighted me. They speak little, but with a lot of sense. I have already bought Rs. 10,000 (USD 200) worth accessories from the Apple Store and I believe it is only because of the wonderful staff interaction that I have had each time. On the first instance, I wanted to buy a case and screen guard for my iPod and the staff showed me gladly all the varieties that they had – without indicating any obligation on me to buy. I walked up to two nearby stores that also sold mobile accessories to check out what they have – at one store, the staff was busy canoodling with his girlfriend (I guess) on the phone and had least interest or respect for the customer who came to spend money. At another store, they had stocks for every damn model but an iPod. The staff felt sorry but couldn’t offer anymore. I came back to the Apple store and ended up buying from there. I repeated my visit a month later – this time to buy a screen guard and a case for the iPhone. I visited various other electronic retail stores who didn’t stock them, and were more interested in selling larger items such as LCDs, Washing Machines and Refrigerators. Even Croma, which is known to stock a wide range of accessories wasn’t carrying anything specific for the iPhone.

Back at my favourite Apple store  at the Forum Mall (Bangalore)m Simran, the sales assistant was not just being polite and interactive but was also non-obtrusive. She allowed me to have a look at things, touch and feel them and never got perturbed by the questions that I enquired regarding the various options. She was happy to answer as many and even offered a few ideas such as a “Matt-finish” scratch guard that would not leave traces of oil from the face and which is easy to wipe off. She suggested a case that not just matched with the phone but was sleek and had a good form factor. Amongst other things, she also showed a few headphones and a couple of JBL speakers. And eventually, I ended up buying a noise-cancellation Apple ear phone worth a 100 dollars (Rs. 4,800) which was completely unplanned! All in a span of a few minutes. Now, that’s what I call “engaging customers” smartly. She knew my preferences for music, realised I had an iPod Touch and an iPhone and that I could, most importantly – appreciate and enjoy the stuff that they make and sell. Hats off to their level of knowledge and customer service. Next on my list: JBL Speakers for the iPod.

I have been using a Samsung Galaxy Tab for the past one year and a BlackBerry for over 3 years. Its been just over two weeks since I have been using the iPhone. Happy with it. But would go back to my BlackBerry any day. I am just that. But all said and done, Apple is not just a product maker but also a smart Retailer. With its unique offering of products, they seemed to have mastered the art of letting customers engage with their products. Single Brand Retailers have a lot to learn from them. Of how not to sell, but to make customers buy the products. And appreciate them all their life. Kudos Apple.

Forecourt Retail–More returns per Sq.ft

The Apurva Chandra Committee appointed by the Union Government of India to review the proposals made by the Associations and Unions of the owners of over 40,000 fuel stations in India to increase their margins has proposed a few charges to be incorporated which are as below;

• Rs. 2 to fill air for two-wheelers
• Rs. 5 to fill air for four-wheelers
• Rs. 20 to fill air in a truck or a bus
• Rs. 2 for Drinking water / Toilet usage etc.

“These are the maximum suggested charges. The RO (retail outlet) dealers would be at liberty to charge lower rates” the committee said in its report reviewed by the Economic Times, India’s leading Financial daily. Currently these services are provided free, and pumps are penalised if they do not offer these facilities. The committee, which submitted its report last year, justified user charges as dealers required to employ additional staff to man these services. The Federation of All India Petroleum Traders (FAIPT) has threatened to go on an indefinite strike from April 23, 2012 onwards in case their demands are not fulfilled, among which are to increase their dealer margins on selling petrol and diesel which is Rs. 1.49/- and Rs. 0.91/- respectively at the moment. The committee had summarily rejected fixing the commission as percentage of the invoice value (proposed by the dealers as 5%) and recommended a 33% increase in dealers’ commission on petrol and 23% in diesel.

To me, it seems ridiculous to say the least to charge for value-added services such as water and toilets, let alone filling air in the tyres! Not that patrons would mind paying these small change – but for a Government appointed panel to propose such recommendations is going back ten steps – with all the modernisation and world-class looks and amenities of fuel stations in India, which started off more than a decade ago.

Petrol & Diesel are essential commodities. While Diesel (prices) are regulated by the Government, Petrol was deregulated a few years ago. Public Sector Undertakings like Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum, Hindustan Petroleum, etc. and private players such as Shell, Essar and Reliance are free to price petrol as per their wishes. The price adjustment is executed once every 15 days and it usually goes up or down by a few paise – small change at a rupee level, though it could run upto Rs. 10-15 for a full tank of fuel of 40 litres. Petrol price itself is usually hiked once every 3-4 months by the Oil PSUs which also allows the private players to proportionately increase their prices. Private players price their commodities a bit higher than the PSUs citing lack of subsidies by the government which are liberally showered by the Union Government. Diesel, which is the main fuel used to ferry people and products in this country is almost a sacred commodity – tweaking prices by a few rupees has seen severe backlash over the years and is left untouched – swelling the losses incurred by the oil companies.

Forecourt Retailing, or having Retail outlets within a Fuel Retail Station is not very popular in India, although it has been a practice to have some convenience shops within its premises selling chips and candies. In the West, it is common to see supermarkets, grocery stores, gift shops, coffee shops, fruits and vegetables and so many categories of items being sold in such outlets – they bring additional footfalls to the RO as well as provide alternate, incremental incomes to the RO owners. In India, it hasn’t taken off very well, except for the one of success claimed by Bharat Petroleum and Hindustan Petroleum with their respective convenience stores. Café Coffee Day, India’s largest café chain with over 1,250 outlets at the moment is the only national player apart from McDonalds to have a significant presence at Fuel stations. And this seems to be only growing. "Between verticals and formats we keep looking at opportunities for expansion," said K. Ramakrishnan, President – Marketing in an interview to The Hindustan Times recently.  The other verticals where CCD is expanding include transport hubs, malls, multiplexes, highstreet, residential, premium institutions (such as hospitals and educational institutions), and highways. Highways are an important component for retailers like CCD, where finding reasonably lower-rental locations is easy, especially within fuel stations. Customers are familiar with the brand and therefore stop by at their outlet while refuelling their cars and refilling and relaxing themselves. McDonalds too operates many outlets on the highways, mostly within petrol stations. The RO dealer, in return for renting space gets either a fixed rent or even a revenue share on Sales.

Rather than charging additionally on value-added services like filling air and drinking water or for usage of toilets, it would make sense to create a strong value-proposition by exploring various retail formats within the ROs. Reliance Petroleum, which operates and manages over 600 ROs in the country includes a restaurant in most of its outlets. These were earlier operated internally by Reliance in the name and style of “A1 Plaza” but were later outsourced, given the better understanding of F&B players like Kamat Yatri Nivas who manage some of their prestigious locations. While the luxury of space allows to operate F&B outlets and other large format stores in the Highways (where overall rentals are cheap), it may not be possible within the city limits where space is at a constraint and while people are in a hurry. In these cases, it may make sense to sell small ticket items such as magazines and popular books, candies, chocolates, wafers etc. This wouldn’t require heavily trained staff while at the same time can get incremental revenues too.

It is only in the interest of customers, fuel dealers and Retailers that we move progressively – in a direction that is to the mutual benefit of all rather than recommendations like above where basic amenities are charged for! Pity!

Music can convert more customers!

I asked him, “are there people in your store who have had a love-failure"??” and obviously he was confused. He called for his supervisor and I repeated my question. Both of them gave me a warm smile and declined that there wasn’t anything of that sort. So, why play such boring music of love-songs at a Hair Salon post noon?!? I quipped. He was quick to change the music and I told him that it wasn’t for me but for his employees too. This incident happened recently at a hair salon when I was out for my monthly activity. I have been a firm believer that “air play” or the music that you play at your retail store, irrespective of its format has an impact on the customers and their tendency to shop/consume more. And there is no standard laundry list of what kind of songs to be played across formats – these are learned over time and are specific to the history (of customer behaviour) and the geography (of the store’s location).

A salon must be playing peppy songs  most often. As it is, a hair cut or a similar activity is a reasonably boring one (and I specifically refer it only to men) while women seem to focus more on the job being done. The staff must be happy and cheerful all the time – after all, they promise to change the way one looks and this is an important thing that most Senior Managements at Retail companies give a miss. While they focus on clean and hygienic environments (which is a must in a salon), things such as mood-lighting and sound (read: music) is often ignored, though not intentionally. It could be different for various services within a Salon. For Ex., the music to be played while a hair-cut is being undertaken could be significantly different than when, say a body massage is being given. I was a month ago, outing at a Kerala Ayurvedic Massage centre, its more of a therapy than just a massage, I would say and to my surprise, there was no music! The whole place was smelling of essential oils, which seem to be suffocating at some stage. I did share my feedback with their front-office and they gave a lame reason – that the speaker wasn’t working. Hope these things get corrected.

For my new born child, I was looking for a cradle and visited many stores that stocked “Baby Products” in Chennai. Not one was  playing music! They could easily be selling music CDs and DVDs for kids of various age – though these are low-margin, low-value items, they increase the basket size without much effort. Mom and Me, the baby products and maternity store operated by Mahindra Retail was playing a DVD on their LCD screen which was located 15 feet above the ground. One had to look up all the way to see what was going on. Ofcourse, it was better to play something than nothing, I felt.

Saravana Stores, a regional Retailer based out of Chennai which has one of the highest footfalls into their million square feet stores recently was playing “Jam” by Michael Jackson, while most of their customers wouldn’t have even known the pop icon. India’s largest Hypermarket Retailer Big Bazaar had sometime ago tied up with a Radio station with national presence but which plays regional songs. Makes sense. Retailers need to talk the same language as the customer and create the mood for consuming more. Cafes and eateries such as Café Coffee Day, Gloria Jeans, Pizza hut, etc. typically play the latest hits while a fine-dine restaurant plays mellow music, usually instrumental such as a piano or piped instrument. Pubs and Bars, as always play music that is so loud that patrons have to speak at the top of their voice to be heard. Grocery stores may choose to play local music but not something that is very jazzy! Department Stores and Malls too play soft music most often. The moments of truth, irrespective of the retailer’s origin or market remains the same.

The power of air play is huge. Few Retailers have realised and used it well. Hope to see many more use them smartly – afterall, good music can aid in higher conversions!

Instead, they drive away footfalls!

I was recently in Chennai and happened to see an advertisement in the newspaper from a leading footwear Retailer announcing End of Season Sale and massive discounts. Someone within my friends circle had even mentioned about it on Facebook. Excited I was like many others, landed up at the store on a Saturday evening. To my utter disappointment, the store was in complete disarray. The owner was standing in one corner with a long face and the sole salesman was running pillar to post, literally. There were atleast 20 customers within the store – a few on the lower level and mostly women on the upper floor. I will not mention the name of the Retailer who is well renowned in Chennai and I only assume that this incident was an aberration than norm. Hope it gets better sooner than later. How I wish...

Some key learning that I took out of this episode;

• End of Season Sale is not just a season to liquidate stocks. It is also an opportunity to attract newer customers from across the town
• To mention “Upto 40% Off” in the advertisement and finally offering unknown brands at such a discount or lower is a wasted effort
• Women are slow shoppers – they spend on an average 2-3 times the amount of time than men while shopping and also try 3-4 times more footwear than men
• It didn’t make any sense to stock women’s products on the upper level – while most customers did walk up, it would have been a better idea to stock them downstairs and allow them more space to move around
• There were just two boys running around helping customers in each floor. Knowing fully well the additional footfalls that are expected due to the newspaper advertisement, it would have made sense that there were more helpers in the store to assist customers
• There is a tendency to believe that discount-seekers are of a lower profile than normal customers and hence it is ok to serve them less! Bad Idea! There were more cars parked outside the store than two-wheelers. And most of them who paid for the product used a debit or credit card
• Worst of all is to stock the products badly – in carton boxes and allowing customers to search for their sizes

At the end of it, I found nothing interesting that were on Sale; instead I walked out of the store rather disappointed. disgusted more on the owners’ interest levels and attitude than the fact that not much was available to buy! Will I visit the shop again? Yes. I guess it was more of a one-off case and would allow the Retailer to correct themselves!

Air Conditioners–From Luxury to Necessity!

Its summer time again – that time of the year when children spend more time outside school, though not necessarily at one’s home! They could be either playing street cricket all day or some indoor games at a friends place! And it is also that time of the year when people look for a cooler climate than it is outside – what better reason to enjoy the weekends with the comfort of an air conditioner! It is the time when the sales of A/Cs sees a peak – sales surge by over 200%. Retailers such as Reliance Digital, Croma and EZone and Brands such as Onida, Samsung, Daikin and many more woo customers with various offers and promotions over these 3 months.

While it used to be a luxury to have a window a/c (in middle-class Indian homes two decades back), things have evolved a lot over the recent years. Today, to have an a/c at home is no more just aspirational. After a long tired day at work, inmates would rather prefer to spend time at home within the confines of a cool area. In fact many builders who construct apartments plan for a/c ducts (window or split) well in advance. And connecting one is no more cumbersome as they used to be. Today, brands send their respective service personnel to the homes of customers for a free installation which is completed within 1-2 hours depending on the complexity of the wiring!

The challenge is not about buying an a/c anymore. It is about being able to use them consistently as well as being able to afford surging electricity bills. This year, states like Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and many more are facing acute shortage of power – and regular power cuts are the norm of the day. At Avadi, a suburb outside Chennai (where train carriages are manufactured for the Indian Railways), there are atleast 5-6 times power cuts everyday including twice in the night between 7pm – 7am for an hour each. In areas like Whitefield and Sarjapur Road in South East Bangalore, power cuts for 2-3 hours are considered normal. Houses that have inverters may not necessarily connect their a/cs as the cost goes up significantly.

Unless the Government manages the grim Power situation better, it is of no help to the Retailers and Brands who publish half-page advertisements in leading newspapers! However, if you are planning to buy an A/c, rush to your nearest Retailer now for exciting deals and offers! And yes, Happy Summer!