'Franchise business in India set to grow'

Friday, 29 May 2009, 15:19 IST
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Kolkata: The franchise business industry in India is hopeful of high growth in the coming years despite the global economic downturn, an industry representative said here Thursday. "The franchise business in India has huge potential and we think it will grow to a large extent in next five years," Indian Franchise Association (IFA) executive director Upendra Sachdev told IANS on the sidelines of a seminar. "We can see the franchise industry growing in India, even during these times of recession and lay-offs. With the property rates lowering due to the slowdown, the entrepreneurs can now start franchise business with cheaper investment," he added. In the next five years, there would be at least 50,000 franchises in the Indian market, which would create an employment for at least 500,000 people," Sachdev said. The IFA and Young FICCI Ladies Organisation jointly held a one-day seminar, 'Empowering Women Entrepreneurs Through Franchising', in Kolkata to help understand the youngsters about the technical aspects of owning a franchise business as a successful carrier option. "The franchise business has been very good mainly in food and beverage and education sectors. The food and beverage industry was up by nearly 38 percent while the education sector registered a growth of 32 percent last year," said Sachdev. He added that the industry expected a good response from the service and health sectors this year. "Many foreign companies are also showing interest in the Indian market, which is definitely a good sign for our industry," Sachdev said. IFA is presently associated with a number of foreign nations like South Arabia, China, Thailand and Oman, where it is working to help Indian franchises to go and run their business successfully. "Many Indian brands are growing in the Gulf countries but most of them are not doing very well in the European market," Sachdev said.
Source: IANS