UK clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz has granted afranchise to Kuwaiti retail

Tag : Specialty Fabric
Owned by a group of Saudi companies and with a regional hub officebased in Dubai, Master Franchisers FZCO employs its own marketingand communications expertise and adds the product-specificknowledge of the franchisor, plus the local retailing skills ofsub-franchisee partners, to build retail chains under big namebrands. Its portfolio of brands includes Master Franchise licensesawarded by Danish furnishing, fabric and furniture retailer JYSK,Malaysian fashion retailer SEED, Malaysian casual wear brand PadiniAuthentics, French women's knitwear retailer Lulu Castagnette andBelgian body-fashion retail brand Hunkemoller, plus two conceptscreated by Master Franchisers FZCO in bedroom and bathroomaccessory brand Bed&Bath and design jewellery retailer Zerga.

"Master Franchisers FZCO have a clear and concise picture of retailpotential in the region, experience across many categories coupledwith sound financials," said Trios Managing Director David Elia."We strongly believe they deliver every opportunity to surpass thegrowth expectations for our franchise."

Meanwhile Maurizio Carlino, Chief Executive of Kuvera (the parentcompany of Carpisa) has reflected: "The only way for us to proceedis to work with a strong, local partner like Master FranchisersFZCO, whereby we join our new concept with their know how of thelocal market and the Arabic customer."

Another high profile Middle Eastern Master Franchise buy over thesummer was made by the Al Tayer Group, which will open 12 nurserygoods stores under the UK's Mamas & Papas brand by the end of2009, including three this year. The group was founded in the UAEin 1979 and owns a number of fashion licenses such as Dolce &Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Jimmy Choo and Yves Saint Laurent, plusMaster Franchises in other industries such as National Car Rental,Belgian chocolate retailer Galler and British department storeHarvey Nichols.

Meanwhile, UK clothing retailer Hennes & Mauritz has granted afranchise to Kuwaiti retail group M.H. Alshaya which will open astore in Kuwait, plus three in Dubai this year (see page 8 for moreon this story). The group was founded in 1890 and has built up ahuge portfolio of franchise licenses, including UK fashionretailers Debenhams, Mothercare, Next, BHS, River Island, Topshop,Dorothy Perkins and Wallis, plus The Body Shop, Clinique, EsteeLauder, Pearle Opticians, Boots, Starbucks, Pizza Express and FootLocker.

H&M CEO Rolf Eriksen said of the deal: "Considering M.H.Alshaya's strategic retail presence in the region, we are confidentthat this partnership will provide a much-needed impetus to ourgrowth plans in the Middle East," while M.H. Alshaya CEO MohamedAlshaya added that the group would commit its "regional knowledgeand retailing expertise" to the success of the endeavour.

Groups such as Master Franchisers FZCO, the Al Tayer Group, M.H.Alshaya and IIC Group, which recently signed a 10-year franchiseagreement to develop Australian brand Brumby's Bakeries in SaudiArabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the UAE and Iran, arecombining highly valuable knowledge of local consumer tastes,regional site location opportunities in the array of retaildevelopments underway and significant capital funding to take ahighly professional approach to Master Franchise ownership.

Similarly, multi-brand focused groups are operating in Central andSouth East Asia, where an increased focus from international brandson developing networks is encouraging Master Franchising activity.In June US brand Krispy Kreme Doughnuts signed a franchiseagreement with Krispy Kreme Hong Kong Ltd to open up to 20 storesin Hong Kong and Macau, China, while in August it awarded a 20-unitMaster Franchise for Indonesia to PT Premier Doughnut Indonesia,which is principally owned by department and specialty retail storegroup PT MAP Premier Indonesia. Australian cookie store brandCookie Man will see 14 outlets and 40 express counters opened inIndia under a Master Franchise with Australian Foods India, whileUS restaurant brand Church's Chicken recently opened its firstSouth East Asian location after granting a Philippine MasterFranchise to Wow Foods Corporation.

The governments in these regions are recognising the value ofencouraging Master Franchising in order to improve their economies.Regular franchise conferences and exhibitions take place in Dubai,Doha, Seoul, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Jakarta, withgrowing attendances from, among others, government ministers keento promote the influx of international business concepts and knowhow. The Malaysian government is going further with theannouncement in July of its Ninth Malaysia Plan, which aims toencourage the creation of 50 franchisors and 100 franchisees, withdeputy minister of entrepreneur development and co-operatives DatukKhamsiyah Yeop explaining that it is an aim of the government tofurther develop the country's franchising industry.

With the business concept of a Master Franchise already proven inits domestic market, investor corporations and governmentsrecognise an opportunity to bypass much of the research anddevelopment stages of launching a new brand in their own country,limiting it to simply altering elements to fit in with their localculture, economy and legislation. This is perhaps even more vitalfor individuals looking at becoming a Master Franchisee who may nothave access to the level of funds needed to drive the developmentof a new idea from scratch. With the additional elements of atraining and support package, an international brand andestablished marketing strategies, Master Franchising offersinternational markets an excellent formula for combining foreignknow how with domestic endeavour.

Franchise Development Services has developed an InternationalFranchise Acquisitions Programme to assist individual and corporateinvestors in examining the international markets for MasterFranchise opportunities. With 25 years of experience of assistingfranchise investors, FDS can assess a portfolio of brands in orderto advise on the most suitable for further investigation. For moreinformation on the International Franchise Acquisitions Programme,call FDS on +44 1603 620301 or visit: www.franchise-group.com