A Difference In Consistency

Financial Post:

One of the hallmarks of franchised businesses in Canada is the consistency in products and services generally offered across a brand. But customers’ tastes can change – sometimes a product becomes stale and outdated, sometimes a service needs to be modified to reflect a particular trend or preference or economic conditions dictate that a whole new selection of offerings be made available to cost-conscious consumers.

The concept of evolving your brand to reflect the times makes sense in principle, but once a franchisor attempts to execute such a plan, it may find some unexpected resistance from franchisees. Of course, the other side of the equation involves struggling franchisees who demand a change of this nature to an unresponsive franchisor.

The industry expectation with respect to responding to the market is that a franchisor will change its system as market conditions change. Read more.