Blogger: Albert Kong, CEO, Asiawide Franchise Consultants I have often been asked why some franchises fail and why some thrive. In my twenty years in the franchising arena, and having traveled to more than forty nations and spoken in thirty-two, my conclusion is that, most of those that are thriving know the importance of excellence and pursue it with persistence. Here are some excellent quotes on excellence: "Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence."  Vince Lombardi "The quality of a person's life is in direct...

The Japanese mindset towards marketing following the country’s earthquake and tsunami disasters in March this year demonstrates how consumer preferences can change following disaster events, according to survey findings. Marketing sentiment survey overview I&S BBDO Japan’s 'Nippon no Tane’ (Seeds of Japan) project asked locals what sort of businesses and content were appropriate for TV commercial films immediately following the 14 March disaster, via online surveys. Consumer sentiment was then monitored again on 29 March, 4 April, 14 April, and 25 April. In the...

As Asia increasingly becomes the main thrust of the world economy, Vietnam becomes a very attractive market for many franchisors around the world due to its mainly-young, huge 90 million population. Notable facts about Vietnam Other notable facts about Vietnam (I discussed in my address to the World Franchise Council in Seoul during October) include: Vietnamese middle class: Seven million people, and expanding Retail sales: $39.1 billion in 2009 – double what they were five years ago Two years ago, there were just 17 KFC outlets.  Today, there are 55. Overseas...

The six ‘C’s of going international outline some key considerations which need to be addressed in the international expansion planning process. Key International Expansion Consideration #1: Country conditions Country conditions, such as political stability need to be considered. For most companies, going to the troubled areas in Nigeria would be unwise due to the religious clashes there. The social environment is also important — a premier home/housing cleaning service franchise may have difficulty doing business in a nation where labor is very cheap, etc. Key...

When going international it’s important to consider the '4 Ps' of marketing: Product Price Promotion Place Product Your product may need to be adapted to local markets. For example McDonald’s came up with a mutton burger since most Indians in India are Hindus and do not consume beef. If you are in the coffee business—are your beans sourced from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms? Price How do your prices relate to the local market? In Indonesia for example, the cleaning service provided by a US franchise company might be equivalent to employing a big number...

Quite naturally, franchisors that have already done well in their own country would be looking to expand overseas. So what are some basic questions that they need to ask themselves?  Asiawide Franchise Consultants CEO Albert Kong explains: At Asiawide Franchise Consultants, we constantly urge our clients to go back to basics. This is important because even very big, established brands can make (and have made) mistakes when they expand successfully overseas and later realise their home ground has become unstable due to various outside and internal factors. The world is definitely flat...

There are a number of factors that contribute to the popularity of franchising in Singapore. Six of the major reasons are outlined below: 1. Located strategically, and equipped with probably the best infrastructure (state-of-the-art telecommunications and shipping facilities, logistics, financial, medical, etc) in the region. Singapore has been very successful in attracting many multinational companies to set up regional headquarters here, as most of them intend to expand into the neighboring markets. 2. The political stability which Singapore has achieved is also a great assurance to the...

The Singapore franchise sector has in excess of 500 franchise systems, with more than 3,000 franchisees operating with an annual turnover of $5.48 billion Singapore dollars (about $3.63 billion U.S.). The country was probably one of the earliest nations in Asia (next to Japan) to embrace franchising. When did franchising start in Singapore? It all began in the 1970s when major Western multi-national companies such as Shell, Esso, Singer and Bata started operations here under licensing systems which bore characteristics similar to what we know today as franchising concepts. A decade later,...