VietNamNet Bridge - Franchisers in the food & beverage (F&B) sector have been told to continue their business model to prosper, but it is the service sector which will be the future of the franchise industry.


{keywords}

Franchising in service sector is poised to boom



At the 2018 Retail & Franchise Trade Fair held some days ago in HCMC, many businesses found cooperation opportunities.

Le Thi Ngoc Thuy, founder of Viva Star coffee, who attended a trade fair of this kind for the first time, said many businesses contacted her to discuss franchise contracts. 

“My notebook is full with contact addresses of the partners who want to be franchisees, though it’s now just the second day of trade fair. Viva Star will meet and discuss with every partner,” Thuy said.

Many foreign brands of tea, coffee, cakes and tools for bars, cafes and restaurants have also seen opportunities to approach customers. Notably, the franchisers’ associations from Malaysia, Korea and Taiwan also attended the fair to promote their business.

Nguyen Tuyet Nhung, CEO of Nana, a brand specializing in ‘purely Vietnamese’ food such as banh cuon (steamed rolled rice pancake), xoi xeo (steamed glutinous rice) and banh te (rice cake), confirmed that many businesspeople came to her stalls with suggestion for cooperation.

“The demand is really great. Both franchisers and franchisees want to start businesses in the quickest and most effective way,” she commented.

Phat Thanh Coffee, a new brand, surprised visitors by standing on par with Nestcafe at the trade fair. The brand is from Long Xuyen Quadrangle and is seeking franchisees.

Many foreign brands of tea, coffee, cakes and tools for bars, cafes and restaurants have also seen opportunities to approach customers. Notably, the franchisers’ associations from Malaysia, Korea and Taiwan also attended the fair to promote their business.

Growing tendency

Analysts noted a trend of franchise contracts shifting from the F&B to the service sector.

A businesswoman, who has returned from the franchise trade fairs in India, the Middle East and Africa, said only 20 percent of franchised brands there are in the F&B sector, while the remaining are in the service and technology-related sectors.

Explaining this, she said people now don’t have much time to take care of themselves, so they tend to use services that are time saving, convenient and useful for their health.

Nguyen Phi Van, chair of Retail & Franchise Asia, said the top 10 new franchised brands in 2018 are all in the service sector, including uBreakiFix with over 300 shops in 2017 (repair of smartphones, game consoles, tablets & computers), Amazing Lash Studio (Light-weight Eyelash Extensions) with 181 studios in the US in 2018, and Velofix (mobile bike shop) with 110 franchised shops in 26 countries.


RELATED NEWS

Foreign giants step up franchising efforts in Vietnam

Domestic firms remain wary of franchises


Kim Chi