The Man That Leads Francorp Middle East

Francorp Middle East is the largest franchise consulting firm in the MENA region. Awarded with AI 2018 Global Excellence Awards, we focus on Francorp ME Chairman, Imad Charaf Eddine to know more about the success of their company.

1. What is your approach when undertaking a new client or project?

For us, it is all about the client and about providing them with the best guidance possible in terms of their strengths, weaknesses and right timing to engage in the franchise process.

Before taking on a client, we need to ensure that their concept is Franchisable through determining whether or not they have the four main key factors:

• Profitability
• Know-how transfer
• Reproducibility
• Marketability

If the clients are lacking in these aspects, we will supply them with training and technology needed to be higher in the market.

2. Tell me about Francorp ME and your ongoing strategy. What techniques do you employ to ensure that you achieve this?

At Francorp Middle East, we constantly work on developing our deliverables, expanding our franchise database and network, and staying one step ahead of the market.

One of our ongoing management strategies is to maintain regular communication with our shared global network of 23+ offices worldwide covering more than 55 countries. Francorp also gives a lot of importance to client feedback.

We support unique businesses but we also look for already functioning businesses as they may usually have great ideas but be based in the wrong industries. We expand our network by participating in events in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, London, New York, Malaysia, Philippines and many more.

3. What are your thoughts on the state of your industry currently? Are there any particular issues/changes that are affecting it?

The Franchising industry is constantly changing. There is always a threat of decline in the economy which may not be a bad thing sometimes.

We believe, that recessions are good for franchising like economic booms. This is because franchising itself is not an industry but an expansion strategy that wouldn’t be affected by a recession. This is not an issue in developed regions such as the GCC, where currently the franchise economy is worth $30bn, with UAE alone worth $18bn, and growing. However, this is more of a threat in developing regions due to the lack of education a lagging economy.

Francorp’s role in these markets has been not only to help develop new concepts and import new international franchises but rather a more educational role as we constantly participate in seminars – workshops etc. to increase awareness about franchising, how it should be properly done, address its misconceptions and discuss its advantages.

4. Are there any unique attributes which Francrop possesses that are essential to achieving success within your industry?

We believe that one of our main unique attributes is our long history & extensive knowledge in developing franchising systems. From oil & gas to F&B to healthcare & wellness, education, beauty & fitness and anything in between, this has enabled us to gain solid experience and knowledge on the do’s and don’ts of a successful franchising system.

We provide our clients with advice and guidance to asses where they stand prior to engaging with us. Following that, we provide them with a tailored and integrated franchise program with guidelines to ensure that their franchise journey is as easy as possible.

The second important attribute is that all of our work and deliverables are done in -house by our various departments; from our strategy to financial to legal to operations and marketing departments, everyone involved is part of the Francorp Middle East team.

Having everything done in-house allows our different departments to communicate and cooperate with one another easily it proves to be easier and faster when getting things done. In addition to that, one of the major reasons for doing everything in-house is because it reinforces confidentiality and that is also of the primary reasons why we never consider outsourcing.

5. What challenges and opportunities have you faced during your time here and how have they affected your role?

One of the major challenges we faced was informing people about franchising as a business, the expansion method and the value it brings to businesses. Therefore, our main mission over the past 15 years has been and continues to be spread the franchise culture, as well as to support small and medium enterprises as we know for franchising can add value to their brand, operations and the overall economic growth.

To achieve this growth, we have worked with many governmental organizations around the Middle East such as Sheikh Mohammed Establishment, Khalifa Fund, Muscat SME, Kuwait SME, Ajman Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Saudi Chambers of Commerce across Jeddah, Riyad, Khobar and Hail, Qatar Development’s operations in Jordan hosting seminars, workshops, subsidized programs and awareness campaigns.

Aside from that, the political instability in certain regions in the middle east plaguing the economy has also been a challenge recently, as people are afraid to set up or run businesses as compared to earlier times. We used our experience and knowledge to tackle this problem which allowed us to establish and maintain a strong position in the market amongst our competitors.

6. Finally, looking to your specific industry or sector, are there any key developments you foresee and how will your business adapt around these?

When considering the franchising industry, for the most part, it is not going to get affected directly by any major developments. However, saying that, since franchising is involved in all other sectors, any future developments that may affect those sectors will have an indirect influence on the franchise industry and the way our services are provided.

Technological change is evident around the world, impacting all industries, and we expect that we would need to change the way we structure elements of our franchise program accordingly. As we except new developments in the future, we would need to prepare to change the way we structure our franchise programs.

We would need to consider the changes in the goals of the owners, the legalities, operations, revenue streams and also recalibrate the coat structures involved. In addition to developments affecting franchising and the way we do it indirectly, there are also many trends to keep in mind when it comes to franchising itself.

Are you a business owner who wants to franchise your brand? Start franchising the correct way.

Consult Francorp Middle East to give you the best guidance towards your success.

Please visit the website or send your inquiries to info@francorpme.com.

Source: Acquisitions International – Issue 2

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