The value of the franchise market in 2013 will not exceed 1.5 billion euros and the interest domains remain restaurants and coffee shops, services and retail, Romanian Association of Franchise President Constantin Anton said.

‘Unfortunately, the current trend is a stagnating one. The interest domains remain restaurants and coffee shops, services and retail. The franchising companies come both from Europe (Italy, France, Turkey, Bulgaria and Greece), the United States, Canada and Asia, mainly from India, but also South Africa,’ Anton said.

The Association is currently working on a series of projects for the development of businesses in franchise regime. One of these projects aims at making shows with various television broadcasters mainly aimed at franchise. Moreover, the Association will publish a franchise guide, in collaboration with specialists in Romania and from abroad, a work meant to collect useful information for those interested in this area.

‘The factors influencing the franchise market are numerous and concerned with the social-economic and political context, the level of entrepreneurial education, the investment level (the entry fee, the costs with the space fitting, equipment, rent, raw materials), the solidity of the business in question, competition, the competitiveness of the franchise in question, the final price of the products or services in question, the election of the suited franchisees. All these can represent, from one case to another, either a break in expanding a franchise network, or a stimulant in its development. Moreover, I could mention with a bitter taste the lack of interest of the Government and banks towards the draw up of some programmes meant to protect the real franchisers and to encourage the loan granting to entrepreneurs interested in becoming franchisees,’ the Association head also said.

At present, there is an increased interest in the franchise area in tourism, including hotels.