This year, at least 5 restaurant and service-based franchises have opened or will open soon on the Vestal Parkway in Vestal alone, demonstrating the popularity of this business concept for area entrepreneurs.
Panera Bread, Make & Take Gourmet, Cold Stone Creamery and Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina are just some of the latest franchises to open on the busy stretch of Route 434. Edible Arrangements is expected to open soon on the Parkway. And the Binghamton region as a whole features many more new franchises, including Cena, a meal-assembly business that opened last month in Johnson City.
But why is opening a franchise so appealing when the risks of opening the business and the time involved in developing the business remain?
‘Franchises are particularly valuable in the starting phases,’ said Douglas Boyce, director of the Small Business Development Center at Binghamton University. ‘Every business has to go through an initial branding phase - letting your customer know that you exist and that you have a quality product, whether it’s burgers or B2B services. This is a time with heavy advertising expenses and the need to establish professional credibility.’ More.
Franchises Flourish For Tier Entrepreneurs
November 28, 2007 by Cris | 1 Comment
In News
Jim McMartin on December 8th, 2007 at 4:29 pm
The rats are jumping from the ship as hundreds of Cold Stone locations are now collapsing around the US. Why? Because the “concept” of mixing stuff into ice cream has always been a fad, and the fad is now over. The product isn’t that good, is grossly overpriced, and consumers are flocking back to properly formulated ice cream from other chains like Baskin Robbins and Ben & Jerry’s.
The Cold Stones have been largely sold to Yuppies with too much equity in their homes, who jumped into the stores to be “business owners”. But since the labor costs are double the competition, and stores are too big and too expensive to run, the number of unprofitable stores is skyrocketing with the results we have here.