Franchise Update Magazine Issue III, 2013 | Page 63
Inbound examples abound
Jeff Elgin, CEO of FranChoice, sees a
broad swath of franchises entering the
U.S. “A new entrant is Metal Supermarkets. They sell odd lots of metal to
companies, and there is a huge market
with lots of demand for this and great
margins for the franchisee. This franchise’s tag line is ‘the world’s largest
supplier of small quantity metals,’ and
it comes from Canada. They consider
themselves the ‘convenience store for
metals.’” Filling a niche is a very good
reason for an international franchise
brand to enter the USA market.
Le Pain Quotidien is an example
of a foreign franchisor that took an
intelligent, measured path to success
in the U.S., says Jeff Kolton, principal
of Franchise Market Ventures, who
brought this high-end food brand to
the U.S. some years ago. Based in Belgium, with international licensees in
17 countries, the company established
an office in New York City and hired
a management team with experience
at building similar chains in the U.S.
Instead of launching a franchise program in the U.S., they grew organically
through company-owned units, slowly
creating the infrastructure to support
future growth. “They continue to have
all their tables and chairs made by the
same company in Europe to maintain brand integrity, work off the same
menus for their breads, and lean toward
menu consistency around the world,”
says Kolton.
Ichiro (Roy) Fujita, president of I.
Fujita International, helps Japanese
brands enter the U.S. In 2010 he helped
Gyu-Kaku, a Japanese BBQ brand, enter the U.S. Today the company has 23
units in 6 states—company owned and
franchised. And Fujita says they are all
highly profitable.
In Australia, Alan Branch, managing
director of Global Franchise Partners,
is helping Floral Image enter the U.S.
Floral Image founder Ben Trussell says,
“The USA will be the biggest market
for Floral Image and a challenge we
are ready for. I smile every time I hear
someone say, ‘I just can’t believe these
aren’t real, they look better than real
flowers!’” Again, filling a niche.
Lesley Hawks, vice president, western region, for St. Jacques Marketing,
believes another Australian import will
ride the wave of success in the U.S., de-
spite delays. “I think Cherry Blow Dry
Bar has been surprised at the long time
it has taken to get under way here in the
U.S.—selecting iconic sites, the lease
process, disclosures, infrastructure, and
the like. However, generally they find
business much easier than in Australia,
and the U.S. franchise arena much more
vibrant.” The brand, which is tapping
into the high-end, high-growth women’s
hair blowout-only craze, has two sites
in construction, in Florida and New
York City, with a third location being
finalized in Beverly Hills.
In summary, if an international franchise fills a niche in the U.S. marketplace, follows the legal requirements,
has strong operating systems, training,
support, and good unit economics, there
is a place for the brand in the largest
franchise market in he world. n
Grow Market Lead
proach to product/service marketing,
and strengths/weaknesses?
Thousands of U.S. franchise companies with performance histories can
be analyzed in many sectors for the
inbound franchisor to answer these
questions before they invest.
William G. Edwards, CEO of EGS,
LLC, has 40 years of international business experience. He has lived in 7 countries
and worked on projects in more than 60. In
addition to having been a master licensee
in 5 countries and in charge of international operations and development for a
U.S. franchise, he has advised more than
50 U.S. companies on their international
development. Contact him at 949-3751896, [email protected], or see his
blog at edwardsglobal.com/blog.
Some Overseas Franchises in the U.S.
Food
Education, Retail, Service
Beard Papa’s (Japan)
Aussie Pet Mobile (Australia via N.Z.)
Boston Pizza (Canada)
Bark Busters (Australia)
Giraffas (Brazil)
Benneton (Europe)
Gyu-Kaku (Japan)
Body Shop (United Kingdom)
Jinya Ramen Bar (Japan)
CertaPro Painters (Canada)
Le Pain Quotidien (Belgium)
Fibrenew (Canada)
Little Sheep (China, Yum Brands-owned)
Kumon (Japan)
Manchu Wok (Canada, Hong Kong-owned)
Liquid Capital (Canada)
Maoz Vegetarian (Netherlands)
Metal Supermarkets (Canada)
100 Montaditos (Spain)
Pirtek (Australia)
Pollo Campero (Central America)
ProntoWash (Argentina)
Tim Hortons (Canada)
TeaGschwendner (Germany)
Vom Fass (Germany)
Tutor Doctor (Canada)
85°C Cafe (Taiwan)
WSI (Canada)
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