Franchise Update Magazine Issue IV, 2011 | Page 43

Thursday morning began back in the Exhibit Hall with
breakfast followed by the first general session of the conference.
After opening remarks by Franchise Update CEO Therese
Thilgen, FRANdata CEO Darrell Johnson took the stage to
share his thoughts on the state of the economy and franchising.
Johnson said that although there are no silver bullets to
change the economic realities affecting business over the
next couple of years, the news is not all bad. “The economist
in me sees the same troubling, challenging economic factors
we’ve all been painfully aware of for the past few years. But as
a businessman, I see some reason for optimism,” he said. For
example, franchise unit openings, which had dropped from
2007 through 2009, turned positive in 2010, with about 13,000
new openings. The continuity rate for open units is also improving, he added, a key factor in attracting new franchisees.
He also cited the example of public corporations, which
“have tightened up, built reserves, and focused on operations.” This, he said, was a business model franchises should
imitate if they want to survive. He stressed that franchising

Franchiseupdate Issue I V, 2011 

Grow Market Lead

was moving into an “era of quality over quantity” where it’s
more important to be “thoughtful than swift,” which he said
“im ƖW2F