FIHL launches franchise show in Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, Aug 4: Franchise India Holding Ltd (FIHL) today began its two-day '7th International Franchise&Trade show' here.

The expo also includes a high-powered workshop and seminar on international franchising and retail conference that would address the influence of big players in the retail market.

International experts are conducting workshops on franchising, licensing and best global practises, which provide practical guidance to professionals on franchising.

''India's total retail is pegged at Rs 75,000 crore out of which only 3 per cent or Rs 2,200 crore is organised and surprisingly 65 to 70 per cent of the market is in rural India,'' said Shashank Pathak, vice-president (retail) of Gitanjali Group, an associate partner of the current programme while addressing the mediapersons.

He said the retail sector in India is highly fragmented. Out of the 12 million retail outlets in the country, more than 80 per cent of these are run by small family businnesses which use household labour. In spite of 1.07 billion Indian population, the target consumer base for most retailers stands at about 405 million of which 30 million have a combined purchasing capacity of 230 billion US dollars. The country's 6 million ''rich'' population shops worth USD 28.36 billion every year, Mr Pathak said.

''Franchising is the biggest marketing tool,'' said Sachin Marya, CEO of Franchise India Holdings Ltd (FIHL).

''Our services are at the same level as anywhere in the world. In the last 10 to 15 years, our service industry has boomed. Today, the trend is more towards service industry and franchising plays a very important role,'' said Ratan Jalan, CEO of Apollo Hospital.

If someone without knowledge wants to start a business but has no knowledge, the franchiser gives him the domain knowledge. To succeed in business, two qualities, 'inside' and 'outside,' are required. Inside refers to service quality, while outside is sales and marketing, Mr Jalan said.

For the entreprenurial growth, franchising is a must. It is indeed of great help, he added.

''Today, there is a retail and franchising revolution. I am happy to be part of this revolution,'' said former Miss India (World) Sayali Bhagat.

The expo workshop is showcasing global systems through a well-designed capsule of best practises on franchising, licensing and entrepreneurship. Its associate partners include Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Club City, Eurokids, Kidzee, Veta, Kidzee High, Retailer and US Dollar Stores.

UNI