To create a franchise business means to enter the market under someone else's brand name, which the consumer already knows. The main advantage of franchising is that you get a “ready-made business” and avoid many of the risks associated with starting a business from scratch.

Another obvious plus is that, despite economic crisis, the scope of franchising in Russia is growing. In 2016, according to the General Director magazine, there are about 1,400 franchises operating on the Russian market, which is 10% more than last year.

What is the best franchise to buy?

To date, the most profitable franchises- in the areas of catering and retail.

The most famous franchising chains in catering are Baskin Robins, Dodo Pizza, Subway and Stardogs. The payback of such a business varies from 9 months to 1.5 years.

The world's largest chain of eateries, Subway, has opened 644 companies in 141 cities in Russia. The franchise is growing rapidly, as it requires a minimum of resources to open one Subway point: there is no hot shop in the eateries, so they launch them economically and quickly.

Clothing, footwear and perfume stores, on the contrary, are less profitable. Given the crisis and the need for large investments, the demand for opening similar business fell. However, things are going well in narrower market segments - for example, fixed price stores or express pharmacies.

The fastest growing franchise in the retail sector in 2016 was the Fix Price chain of stores - it has 2050 enterprises in 723 cities of Russia (however, if we talk specifically about franchising enterprises, then Fix Price has only 250 of them). The reason for the popularity of the franchise lies in its low cost: 300 thousand rubles. Another advantage is the narrow niche that the company has occupied: Fix Price is a monopoly in Russia in the sale of goods at a fixed price.

What assistance can a partner expect from a franchisor?

Assistance from the franchisor can be expressed in consultations, staff training, equipment supply, advertising support - the list can be much longer, depending on the business area and the parameters of a particular transaction. For example, in retail, as a rule, the founder helps the franchisee with the selection of a retail outlet, equipment, and staff training.

Thus, the 33 Penguins ice cream store chain helps franchisees to choose the location of the outlet, gives recommendations on window dressing and equipment selection for outlets helps train staff. The company also helps to determine the profitability of the business.

Speaking of the area Catering, then the help of the founder can go beyond the simple selection of premises. For example, the Dodo Pizza chain of pizzerias opened an entire school for franchisees and developed its own software Dodo Is, which allowed to optimize the work of 93 partners in 71 cities of Russia.

What do the numbers say?

Despite the attractiveness of some offers on the franchise market, it is important to understand that where you pay little, you earn as much. For example, opening a branch of the popular Shokoladnitsa coffee shop costs 12.5 million rubles with an annual income of 6.5 million rubles: this means that the cafe will pay off only after 2-3 years.

There are franchises that require less money for entry, and the profit in the first year of operation covers the initial expenses. On paper, the benefit in numbers looks tempting, but it is far from always embodied in reality.

The starting cost of the franchise, in addition to upfront expenses like rent retail space and hiring employees, includes a lump-sum fee - a one-time payment that the founder charges from the franchisee for using the trademark. In the table below, you can look at the ratio of initial expenses and revenues of popular franchises on the market.

A low entry fee due to the crisis is offered by many clothing and footwear retailers, for example, InCity, Sela, Finn Flare. The entry threshold has been lowered as the popularity of such franchises has fallen: people have begun to spend less money on new things. Before acquiring such a franchise in a crisis, it is better to calculate all the risks.

So is it worth it to start a franchise business?

Experts and entrepreneurs interviewed " CEO', they think so. In 2014 they even turned on franchising in the top twenty promising business areas in Russia for the next 3-5 years.

However, do not think that a franchise business is easy money. Although the franchisor helps, the success of the project is 99% dependent on the conscientious work of the partner. It takes, in my experience, an average of two to four years to break even, and no one guarantees you success.

The good news is that after working on a franchise, new entrepreneurs usually learn the basics of the business and open their own business after a while. If you have such ambitions, the franchise business will be a great school.

1. Calculate in advance how much you are willing to invest in the business, not counting the lump-sum fee;
2. Research the company that sells the franchise (small initial investment and high income should make you doubt);
3. Decide on the niche in which you want to buy a franchise. You should have at least a minimal idea about this business;
4. Discuss in advance what the company will provide you: what support will be provided, for which you will be asked for an additional fee (sometimes this is not written in the contract);
5. A brand is not always a guarantee of success, discuss with a partner what you will get in addition to the brand (technology, favorable conditions with contractors, equipment);
6. If you buy a code, make sure it's patented;
7. Carefully study the contract: especially sections with obligations and penalties;
8. Before paying, be sure to ask for a project launch plan and those responsible for each stage. You must have a clear understanding of how you will launch the project after paying the franchise;
9. If you are buying a foreign franchise, find out who will be localizing the project.

Most Popular Franchises - 9 of the most popular and established franchises that you can join.

Franchising relatively recently came to the territory of Russia and Ukraine.

Some entrepreneurs are wary of this type of business, because sometimes the size of the initial investment can be impressive.

But you know, choosing most popular franchises you can quickly recoup your investment.

What is a franchise?

First of all, let's look at the concept of "franchise", as well as a few terms associated with it.

Franchise is an agreement that is concluded between the franchisor (owner trademark) and franchisees (those who want to start cooperation) regarding the release of products or the provision of services under this brand.

Simply put, this is the use of a trademark on a leasehold basis.

In this type of cooperation, both parties benefit:

• the franchisor expands the scope of its activities and makes a profit;
• the franchisee saves time on training and promotion of the business, receives clear instructions on how, and finally, in his hands is a promoted brand that will immediately have its customers.

When an agreement is concluded between the parties, then the concepts appear in it, the meanings of which you need to know:

• royalties are payments for the use of the brand and the assistance of the franchisor; can be presented as a percentage of the financial turnover, a percentage of the margin, a fixed payment;
• lump sum is a one-time payment for joining the franchise network.

Most Popular Food Service Franchises

No. 1. subway

This company is a leader in the field of fast food restaurants.

It was founded in 1965.

Subway restaurants can be found in 112 countries of the world, and in Russia there are more than 670 of them, of which the first one opened in 2004.

The popular Subway franchise offers healthy fast food.

Here you can find fresh vegetables, meat, rolls, salads, desserts and drinks.

The restaurant's feature is sandwiches, the filling of which you can choose yourself, as well as bread, which is baked every 4 hours.

If you want to become a member of this particular network, you must know the cost of the franchise provided:

No. 2. McDonald's

This is a fast food classic that every inhabitant of the planet knows about.

In terms of the number of restaurants in the world, the company ranks second after Subway.

An assortment of popular franchises in different countries may differ, but still it is represented by sandwiches, hamburgers, french fries, various drinks and desserts.

If we talk about cooperation with McDonald’s in Russia and Ukraine, then everything is complicated here.

Only recently the company began to work on conditions in these countries.

In Russia, the Rosinter company operates under a franchise.

Becoming a McDonald's franchisee takes a lot of work.

First of all, you need to have an impressive amount of money, then go through a long and intensive course of study related to technological process and marketing strategy.

No. 3. chocolate girl

And a striking example is the network of coffee houses "Shokoladnitsa".

Most of the coffee houses, namely 200 "Shokoladnits", are located in Moscow and the Moscow region, but they also successfully operate in the regions of the country, as well as in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

There are 85 outlets operating as a franchise.

The coffee house offers delicious grain coffee, elite tea, other drinks and delicious desserts.

Also "Shokoladnitsy" have a unique and cozy design.

The company pays much attention to staff training.

It works for this The educational center where classes are conducted by qualified trainers and psychologists.

The most popular retail franchises

No. 4. ZARA

This is a company that designs and manufactures women's, men's and children's clothing and accessories.

The stores of this network are represented in 70 countries of the world and their number exceeds a thousand.

They have been franchising since 1988 to expand the market.

It is noteworthy that there is no lump-sum fee for joining the network, but there is the so-called "franchise cost", which is essentially the same thing.

It is also worth noting that the condition for is the purchase of the first batch for a certain amount.

And for a fee, you can become a monopolist in your city or region.

So, to join the popular ZARA franchise, you will need to spend the following amounts of money:

No. 5. IKEA

In Russia, this network is represented independently, and in Ukraine there are no stores of its kind at all.

IKEA has been on the market since 1943, and naturally, for such a long service life, it has earned the trust of customers.

Most of the stores are represented in Europe, in Russia it operates as its own retail chain.

The company provides a franchise where it is not able to enter the market itself.

Becoming a franchisee of a company is quite difficult.

In addition to major cash investments, which are determined individually, from those wishing to join, you need to have at least 15 years of successful experience behind them.

No. 6. fix price

The format of such trading is that a single fixed price is set for everything.

Here you can buy:

• foodstuffs;
• cosmetics;
• bijouterie;
• office;
• household products;
• household chemicals;
• clothes.

Now there are more than 2,000 stores in Russia.

And in order to join them, in addition to financial obligations, you must have at your disposal a room with an area of ​​250 sq. m.

It is also worth noting that in locality, which will be this popular franchise, must have a minimum of 25,000 residents.

Most Popular Service Franchises

No. 7. Mail Boxes

This is an American company that is engaged in express delivery of correspondence and cargo.

To accomplish this, Mail Boxes, in turn, cooperates with 9 worldwide delivery services.

They can also print documents and promotional materials.

The network is represented in 70 countries, and on Russian market came out in 2010.

After opening its own branch, 94 franchise centers appeared.

In addition to finances, in order to become a franchisee, you must have sales experience.

Also, the future franchise participant must personally work in an open branch for the first year, and after confirmation, come to special education in Moscow.

No. 8. Genetic Test

GeneticTest is a unique technology that allows you to find out about a person's abilities by fingerprint.

The franchise began operating in 2012, and in 2013 it received the "Best Innovative Project" award.

Years of research have led to the creation of a software and hardware complex that determines through a fingerprint scanner what abilities a person has.

It helps in self-development and self-discovery.

The creators claim that the profit from one checked person is 1000 rubles, so you can recoup your investment in a popular franchise by serving 50 clients.

No. 9. INVITRO

It provides medical services in the form of more than 1000 types of examinations.

Since 2006, more than 300 franchise members have opened.

All classrooms are equipped with special equipment.

The collected analyzes are sent to Moscow for examinations.

Franchisees are required to select premises that will meet necessary requirements, as well as hire staff in the amount of 5 people.

Since this area is related to medicine, representatives of the main office check the franchisee several times a year.

To choose a franchise in the service sector, watch this video:

On this most popular franchises do not end.

This was just a short list.

But remember that even the most hyped franchise does not guarantee 100% success.

Much depends on the franchisee himself, on his business skills, ability to manage and adhere to all the rules.

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View from the outside

"Companies launch franchises for small towns"

Nina Semina, founder of the franchise catalog franshiza.ru

“In 2017, low-cost franchises (up to 700,000 rubles of expenses for starting a business) were popular, as well as franchises in the field of medical and laboratory diagnostics, children's education, beauty and catering. Demand for apparel and footwear retail franchises has declined and demand for color cosmetics franchises has risen: in early 2017, we saw growth in demand for Flormar, NYX Professional Makeup and Russian brand Mixit. The trend is also the segment of franchising, built on the sale of food, drinks, household goods for low prices(Galamart, Fix Price, Home Market).

More operating franchisors launch as a separate franchise format for small towns. Previously, everyone wanted to develop networks in millionaires, but there is already strong competition in most markets. In small towns, competition is not so high, but they need Special offers with a minimum investment. On the other hand, many Russian successful franchisors are beginning to enter the international market - to the countries of the post-Soviet space, to Europe and China. This is mainly typical for the catering segment (Chocolate Girl, Gelateria Plombir, Dodo Pizza, etc.). ,>

Among the new areas of franchising in 2017 are EMS fitness, intellectual games, virtual reality, aggregators (for example, Fasten taxi aggregator). An interesting trend is the development of multi-franchising, when people purchase several different franchises at once.

According to forecasts for 2018, we expect the emergence of franchises in the field of services and goods for animals (Medvet animal clinics have already appeared), interesting regional concepts for fast food franchises, the development of the “with a twist” restaurant segment, the beauty and health segment, IT franchises, as well as franchises targeted at the younger generation.

"The typical franchise buyer is the middle manager"

co-owner consulting company Deloshop Philip Gureev

“We are seeing a slight increase in demand for franchises in the range of 5-10% per year. At the same time, many new franchise players are emerging. Many of them quickly cease their activities. As a rule, these are small companies from the regions that have opened two or three points in their own country and now expect to conquer the whole of Russia with their concept. These are mainly services and catering with starting investments from 1-2 million rubles However, if a business does well in one city, this does not mean at all that it will be successful at the federal level. In general, there are many more new concepts and ideas on the market than franchise buyers.

As usual, children's centers, football schools, medical laboratories, etc. are in demand. The network is successfully developing (No. 20. - RBC) from Metro Cash & Carry - many owners of unnamed convenience stores prefer to work under the wing of a large chain.

A typical franchise buyer in 2017 is a middle manager who has up to 5 million rubles. As a rule, he views the franchise as a way to get passive income. Deposit rates have fallen, real estate is not getting more expensive, so they want to start some kind of business. At the same time, his wives, relatives, and hired managers are often trusted, which, of course, is a mistake. The less the owner is involved in the franchise business, the greater his chances of losing money. Sometimes it's easier to buy already ready business“It will cost more than a franchise, but there are fewer risks.”

If we talk about the most profitable franchises, it is worth noting that many of the franchises presented in 2018 on the franchise market are in the top best offers During a long time. For a number of these franchisors, the number of enterprises opened on the basis of a franchise partnership is much larger than their own branches.

Among the most profitable franchises of 2018, you can find franchises related to the launch and development of enterprises in such areas as catering and clothing retail, medical services, hairdressing business and much more. Businessmen interested in small and medium-sized businesses can take advantage of offers from both domestic famous companies and world famous brands.

We bring to your attention a list of profitable franchises in 2018. These franchise offerings are well suited to a wide range of entrepreneurs. These franchises will help you get started own business with minimal labor. You can contact each franchisor from the list directly through the contact form.

List of profitable franchises in 2018

Contrast Franchise

The franchise is a project to open a hookah club. The company that provides the opportunity for franchising cooperation has passed the certification procedure and is engaged in legal activities. Enterprises opened under the Contrast franchise are distinguished by a high level of profitability. That is why this franchise can rightfully be considered one of the most profitable.

The total amount of investments required to purchase a franchise: 400 thousand rubles. The franchise agreement does not provide for the payment of royalties. Representatives of the company provide assistance in choosing a place to open a club. Staff training is provided. Minimum payback period of the project: five months.

CoffeSpace franchise

This profitable franchise is an offer from a company specializing in coffee business. The number of fans of the brand is estimated today in tens of thousands. The success is due to a number of factors, including the so-called provocative design decisions.

The amount of investments for the formation of the enterprise is 300 thousand rubles. There is no royalty payment in the franchise agreement. Minimum Volume push fee - 179 thousand rubles. There is no royalty payment in the terms of the agreement. The territory for opening a coffee shop is selected with the help of the company's specialists. Preference is given to universities, trade and business centers. The minimum payback period for investments made is three months.

Franchise of the children's clothing store Artel

The company, which introduced the Artel franchise to the Russian franchise market in 2016, sells high-quality, practical and fashionable clothes for children. This franchise is considered by many experts to be one of the most profitable as of 2018.

The franchisee gets the opportunity to use the full package of standards for document management and accounting for goods. Staff are regularly trained and tested. The amount of investment for acquiring a franchise is 800 thousand rubles. Annual payment of royalties - 25 thousand rubles annually. There is no lump-sum payment in the terms of the contract. Space requirements: 60 - 100 square meters. The period during which investments pay off: from five months to one and a half years.

Other Profitable Franchise Options

Below we have selected for you a few profitable franchises that may be of interest to you. Please check them out.