No one can argue with the fact that the Russian economy has been stagnating over the past few years. In a difficult economic situation, it becomes extremely difficult for entrepreneurs to independently develop a business - their own financial and other necessary funds are not enough, therefore, in order to maintain their position in the market, many companies that previously did not even look towards selling franchises are now actively using them. As a result, franchising in the country is developing quite dynamically even in this difficult period.

Important! Subject matter experts note that in the coming years, franchising may surpass regular startups in terms of success.

Trends in the Russian franchising market in 2017

Before considering the development of franchises in Russia this year, it is necessary to determine the main trends of the past. In 2016, the number of transactions concluded in this market decreased. Rospatent noted that compared to 2012 - the peak of issued licenses and commercial concession agreements (about 12 thousand) - in 2016 their number decreased by almost half.

Last year, in order to attract potential franchisees, franchisors provided various discounts, promotions, and loans for the development of their network. In addition, when choosing a franchise, entrepreneurs were guided by the required amount of capital investment, and not by the industry.

The Russian Academy of Franchising, analyzing market development in 2017, noted slow but stable growth, which is projected at 15% by the end of the year. There are several prerequisites for this:

• Increasingly, both medium-sized and small companies are showing interest in franchises, since it is easier and less risky to buy a working model than to promote it “from scratch”;
• Loyalty of creditors to such businessmen is higher, especially if a well-known brand is involved in the transaction;
• interest in franchises with minimal investment is growing.

The Academy also noted that in 2017, young entrepreneurs (under 30 years old), who have 3-4 million capital at their disposal, are increasingly trying to enter the franchising business. In addition, experts predict that in the near future banks and financial organizations will offer potential franchisees new favorable lending conditions and reduce requirements for borrowers to the minimum possible level.

Franchising structure in Russia

Criteria for selecting the best franchises

Although it is generally accepted that building a franchise business is easier than starting from scratch, when the question arises of which franchise is best to buy, it turns out that it is very difficult to independently determine the prospects of the proposals. Fortunately, there are many rating agencies that determine the top successful franchises in Russia.

The network of private English bilingual kindergartens has been on the market for about seven years and has been selling franchises since 2013. The company helps franchisees with the development of a financial model, selection of personnel and premises, and promotion. The period for opening a kindergarten from scratch is two months, and the franchisee’s monthly income is about 550,000 rubles.

The Tursunovs opened the Vilgud car service center in 2011, and three years later they launched franchising. Today they promise their partners that they will reach planned targets after three months of work. About a third of Vilgud’s partners own two or more car service centers in the network. The founders expect that by 2023 the franchise network will have 1,000 points in Russia and the CIS.

The federal network of post-warranty car service stations Fit Service has been operating as a franchise since 2013 and has 125 stations, with approximately the same number still at the opening stage. The franchisee can choose one of three operating models. Among the company's requirements for potential partners are business experience and willingness to learn.

The American chain of pizzerias has been operating in Russia for 15 years. You can open a Papa John's franchise outlet in one of three formats: large, medium and small. The lump sum fee is $35,000; along with the brand, franchisees receive a proprietary recipe, contracts with suppliers at fixed prices and cash register software.

The history of the coffee shop chain began with a cafe in the center of Moscow, which opened in 1964 and operated for about 20 years. The new owner relaunched Shokoladnitsa in 2000, keeping the same name, concept and even several desserts on the menu. Scaling began in the capital, then the brand entered the regions. In 2014, Shokoladnitsa bought its competitor Coffee House.

The international cartographic company 2GIS has been publishing electronic directories of the same name with city maps since 1999. The central office is located in Novosibirsk, and in 2004 the company began expansion throughout Russia. Depending on the size of the city and the complexity of the project, investments before reaching the break-even point amount to 13–36 million rubles.

The pizzeria chain was founded by an entrepreneur from Syktyvkar, Fyodor Ovchinnikov, who failed in his book business. Two years later, Dodo Pizza launched a franchising business. Today, Ovchinnikov’s partners work in 10 countries, including the UK, China and the USA. In 2017, the company opened 113 franchise points and closed none.

The fast food restaurant chain Subway is one of the oldest franchises in Russia. The first location opened in 1994 in St. Petersburg, but the brand began its large-scale market takeover 10 years later. Today, about 50% of partners in Russia own two or more franchise points. The lump sum fee depends on the dollar exchange rate and is $7,500.

Investments from 1 to 5 million rubles.

The first school for speed reading, development of intelligence and memory IQ007 opened in the city of Zlatoust, Chelyabinsk region. The project has its own teaching methodology, which was developed together with teachers. In 2017, the popularity of new areas of the school increased - calligraphy and mental arithmetic courses. About 80% of IQ007 students are children from 4 to 16 years old.

The real estate agency Miel opened in Moscow in the early 1990s. At that time, the company entered into housing rental transactions, and later began buying and selling. Since 2009, it has been developing a network of franchise offices. In 2017, Miel terminated contracts with debtor franchisees and entered into 22 new ones in cities with a population of over a million - this increased the average annual revenue from point to point by 30%.

The Lechu network of mini-clinics was created in 2005 by the founders of the Invitro company. A year after the launch, it was decided to develop a franchise direction. As a rule, mini-clinics are opened by those who already have an Invitro franchise. In 2018, Invitro bought shares from Lechu shareholders, preserving the brand.

The federal network “Positronics” was created by the Russian distributor of electronics and household appliances Merlion. The first store opened in Naberezhnye Chelny in 2006, and two years later more than 150 outlets operated under the brand. The company offers partners different formats, from small order pick-up points to full-fledged stores with an area of ​​1000 square meters. m.

In 2005, programmer Anton Epifanov started a business selling optical instruments. Over the course of 10 years, through franchising, the Four Eyes network has developed from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. Starting investments are 1.8 million rubles, of which 1.5 million is the amount of initial inventory. The franchisor promises low purchase prices, allowing a markup of 65–120%.

Invitro's first business was a clinical laboratory; in 2002, it opened its own office for receiving biomaterials, and in 2005, the first franchise offices opened. At the same time, the founders of Invitro created the Lechu mini-clinic, and in May 2018, these networks merged. The company has taken a strategic course towards the development of the medical area.

Investments up to 1 million rubles.

The first Championika football clubs for children over 3 years old opened in 2013. To scale the business, we launched franchising. Under the terms of the agreement, the partner buys a franchise covering an area with a population of 200,000 people and can open an unlimited number of outlets. Starting this year, “Championika” opened dance sections for girls.

The idea to create a football school for children from 3 to 6 years old belongs to entrepreneur Alexander Sementsov. The average price of a monthly subscription is 4,000 rubles. In a standard mini-football hall, 30–40 children can train at the same time. To achieve payback on average in six months, franchisees need to recruit a group of only 12 people.

The Novosibirsk express delivery operator SDEK was created in 2000 and helped deliver goods from the Korzina.ru online store to cities in Siberia and the Far East. Gradually the project grew and became a major federal player. In 2017, SDEK opened 450 franchise points, the number of shipments doubled, and the revenue of its franchisee partners also increased.

We have compiled the latest ranking of the best franchises in the world. We have selected the top 6 international brands that offer the most profitable franchising programs. The evaluation criteria were good profitability indicators, the size of investments, the total number of franchisees, the speed of network growth and the popularity of products around the world.

Dairy Queen

Dairy Queen is an American fast food chain that operates under seven different lines with separate brands. DQ establishments serve ice cream, hamburgers, grilled burgers, frozen yogurts, milkshakes, juices, and drinks. The company has been in business since 1940 and is a pioneer in the food franchise industry. Dairy Queen increased its market presence from a dozen locations in 1941 to hundreds in 1947, and by 1950 it had more than 1,400 locations.

On the world map: Dairy Queen is represented by 6,700 fast food restaurants in 30 countries, including 4,400 business partners in the United States.

Franchise features:

• cost from $1,100,000;
• variety of restaurant types and good franchise packages;
• obtaining a franchise is divided into 5 simple steps;
• 65 years of experience in franchising.

Dairy Queen is constantly diversifying its menu, although it started out by making and selling ice cream. One of DQ's top investors is Warren Buffett, who likes to pose for photographers with his signature ice cream. Dairy Queen is the only major eatery that does not have an exclusive beverage contract—most locations serve Pepsi-Cola products, but some locations serve Coca-Cola to customers.

Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches

Jimmy John's is a chain of American burger restaurants. Unlike top competitors, it does not claim that its products are the best on the market. Jimmy John's admits that their burgers are good, but may not taste as good as sandwiches from other eateries. The company keeps the menu almost unchanged and does not organize high-profile promotions. The trick of Jimmy John's is the speed of service - a 20-centimeter burger is prepared in 30 seconds. The Illinois-based business ranks high because it added 350 franchisees over the past year. Over the last three years, the increase was 48.8%.

The most popular franchises - 9 of the most popular and proven companies that you can join.

Franchising relatively recently came to the territory of Russia and Ukraine.

Some entrepreneurs are wary of this type of business, because sometimes the size of the initial investment can be impressive.

But know when choosing most popular franchises, you can quickly recoup your investment.

What is a franchise?

First of all, let's look at the concept of "franchise", as well as several terms associated with it.

Franchise is an agreement concluded between the franchisor (the owner of the trademark) and the franchisee (those who want to start cooperation) regarding the production of products or the provision of services under this brand.

To put it simply, this is the use of a trademark on a leasehold basis.

With this type of cooperation, both parties benefit:

• the franchisor expands the scope of its activities and makes a profit;
• the franchisee saves time on training and promoting the business, receives clear instructions regarding this, and finally in his hands is a promoted brand that will immediately have its own customers.

When an agreement is concluded between the parties, it contains concepts whose meanings you need to know:

• royalties are payments for using the brand and assistance from the franchisor; can be presented as a percentage of financial turnover, a percentage of margin, a fixed payment;
• lump sum- This is a one-time payment for joining the franchise network.

The most popular franchises in the catering industry

No. 1. Subway

This company is a leader in the fast food restaurant industry.

It was founded in 1965.

Subway restaurants can be found in 112 countries around the world, and in Russia there are more than 670 of them, the first of which opened in 2004.

The popular Subway franchise offers healthy fast food.

Here you can find fresh vegetables, meat, rolls, salads, desserts and drinks.

The specialty of the restaurant is sandwiches, the filling of which you can choose yourself, as well as bread, which is baked every 4 hours.

If you want to become a member of this particular network, you must know the cost of the franchise provided:

No. 2. McDonald's

This is a fast food classic that probably every person on the planet knows about.

The company ranks second after Subway in terms of the number of restaurants in the world.

The assortment of the popular franchise may differ in different countries, but it is still represented by sandwiches, hamburgers, French fries, various drinks and desserts.

If we talk about cooperation with McDonald’s in Russia and Ukraine, then everything is complicated.

Only recently the company began to work on conditions in these countries.

In Russia, the Rosinter company operates as a franchise.

To become a McDonald's franchisee, you need to work hard.

First of all, you need to have an impressive amount of money, then undergo a long and intensive training course related to the technological process and marketing strategy.

No. 3. Chocolate girl

Continuing the topic of the most popular franchises, special attention should be paid to domestic companies.

And a striking example is the Shokoladnitsa coffee shop chain.

Most of the coffee shops, namely 200 Shokoladnitsa, are located in Moscow and the Moscow region, but they also successfully operate in the regions of the country, as well as in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

There are 85 outlets operating as franchises.

The coffee shop offers delicious bean coffee, elite tea, other drinks and delicious desserts.

Also, “Chocolate Girls” have a unique and cozy design.

The company pays a lot of attention to personnel training.

For this purpose, there is a training center where classes are conducted by qualified trainers and psychologists.

The most popular retail franchises

No. 4. ZARA

This is a company that designs and sews women's, men's and children's clothing and accessories.

The stores of this chain are represented in 70 countries around the world and their number exceeds a thousand.

They began operating as a franchise in 1988 to expand the market.

It is noteworthy that there is no lump-sum fee for joining the network, but there is a so-called “franchise cost”, which is essentially the same thing.

It is also worth noting that the condition for this is the purchase of the first batch for a certain amount.

And for a fee, you can become a monopolist in your city or region.

So, to join the popular ZARA franchise, you will need to spend the following amounts of money:

No. 5. IKEA

In Russia, this chain is represented independently, but in Ukraine there are no stores at all.

IKEA has been on the market since 1943, and naturally, over such a long service life, it has earned the trust of customers.

The bulk of the stores are represented in Europe; in Russia it operates as its own retail chain.

The company provides a franchise where it is not able to enter the market itself.

Becoming a franchisee of a company is quite difficult.

In addition to large financial investments, which are determined individually, those wishing to join will need to have at least 15 years of successful experience in running a company.

No. 6. Fix Price

One of the most popular franchises in Russia is the chain of grocery and non-food goods stores – Fix Price.

The format of such trading is that a single fixed price is set for everything.

Here you can buy:

• foodstuffs;
• cosmetics;
• costume jewelry;
• office;
• household products;
• household chemicals;
• clothes.

There are now more than 2,000 stores across Russia.

And to join them, in addition to financial obligations, you must have at your disposal a premises with an area of ​​250 square meters. m.

It is also worth noting that the locality in which this popular franchise will be located must have at least 25,000 people living in it.

The most popular service franchises

No. 7. Mail Boxes

This is an American company that provides express delivery of correspondence and cargo.

To achieve this, Mail Boxes, in turn, cooperates with 9 global delivery services.

They can also print documents and promotional materials.

The network is represented in 70 countries and entered the Russian market in 2010.

After opening our own branch, 94 franchise centers appeared.

In addition to finances, in order to become a franchisee, you must have sales experience.

Also, a future franchise participant must personally work in an open branch for the first year, and after confirmation, come for special training in Moscow.

No. 8. GeneticTest

The work of this company can be called a popular new product on the market without any evidence.

GeneticTest is a unique technology that allows you to learn about a person’s abilities using fingerprints.

The franchise began operating in 2012, and in 2013 it received the “Best Innovative Project” award.

Many years of research have led to the creation of a hardware and software complex that determines, through a fingerprint scanner, what abilities a person has.

This helps in self-development and self-discovery.

The creators claim that the profit per person checked is 1,000 rubles, so you can recoup your investment in a popular franchise by serving 50 clients.

No. 9. INVITRO

This is an independent laboratory, which is the largest in the CIS.

It provides medical services in the form of more than 1,000 types of examinations.

Since 2006, more than 300 franchise members have opened.

All rooms are equipped with special equipment.

The collected samples are sent to Moscow for examination.

The franchisee is required to select a premises that will meet the necessary requirements, as well as hire a staff of 5 people.

Since this area is related to medicine, representatives of the main office carry out inspections of franchisees several times a year.

To choose a franchise in the service sector, watch this video:

On this most popular franchises don't end.

This was just a short list.

But remember that even the most popular franchise does not guarantee 100% success.

Much depends on the franchisee himself, on his business skills, ability to lead and adhere to all the rules.

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