Marcel Portmann, vice president for international development for the International Franchise Association, went to Senegal last month to address prospective investors about franchising ownership there.
Why Senegal? According to Portmann, it has all the right stuff for franchising: a willing culture, enforceable trademark legislation and the supply chain capacity to help franchisees keep their businesses well stocked. And although Senegalese disclosure law is weak, he said, the country is “franchise friendly.” Sofitel, Portmann’s hotel during his stay in Senegal, is a franchise brand owned by the French company Accor.
Franchising was begun in 1731 by Benjamin Franklin, who licensed his Philadelphia printing business to Thomas Whitmarsh for operation in Charleston, South Carolina. The concept has since grown around the world. A 2005 report by the European Franchise Association found about 6,500 franchised brands operating in Europe alone. Of those, more than 80 percent are domestically owned brands.
China, a relatively undeveloped franchise market, is already home to more than 2,000 franchise systems and 120,000 outlets. While those outlets represent only about 1 percent of the country’s retail sales, a recent industry report projected that by 2010 the share could reach 30 percent
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