Franchises As A Business

[billyboy]

Not wanting to lose my money i started looking into Franchises to buy a business.

I emailed FAMILY MART who emailed me documents all written in Thai.

7/11 didnt reply back.Anyhow on another post here , it says that a 7/11 is around 3.5 mil for a return of around 600 000 baht.

I suppose these would be "safer" businesses to buy,but i never see them advertised. Are they all 3.5 mil to buy or is that there start up fee?

SUBWAY might be another good idea for Pattaya area but would have to be in a high tourist foot area,say near the beach.

Im pretty certain a convenience store is good,its just there websites are not in english.I was quite shocked to see another poster say about 3.5 mil to buy unless he means start up.The safe thing about this type of business is i have someone to fall back on.The management will assist you,the products etc you buy from the company,its ll done for you.There must be some franchise convenience stores around or under 2 mil,how would i find out?

i suppose sunbelt will do this service for you,if you really want,i would still employ them for legal rep if i was going to buy as you need someone on your side.

Edited January 16, 2005 by billyboy

[Digger]

If your determined to buy a business, contact the guy on this forum called 'wcr' - I am sure he mentioned a short time ago that he is looking at selling his car rental business. Most likely has full work permit, proper books and a decent track record. You could do a lot worse than a car rental company in Pattaya.

[Sunbelt Asia]

Are they all 3.5 mil to buy or is that there start up fee?

This is for inventory, leasehold improvements, signs and the franchise fee. I would say the odds are very high they would not approve a foreigner as a franchisee as the classes are in Thai, etc. I'll check tomorrow just to be sure.

SUBWAY might be another good idea for Pattaya area but would have to be in a high tourist foot area,say near the beach.

One has just open up on the Beach Rd. Walking Street would be a good area.

Remember as a franchisee you have to be approved by the franchisor. You can't just write a check and go into business. They have to be convinced "its a good fit for both the franchisee and franchisor" If yoiu are interested let me know. I'll get a information kit sent to you.

www.sunbeltasia.com

[billyboy]

I hope they approve foreigners,i think family mart would.

On WCR .his car rental business i know is for sale but i have no exp in cars,i dont know how car rentals would do in Pattaya anyway considering most tourists rent motorbikes. I have about 4 mil max to invest in a business,i suppose i should say around 3 mil to keep some aside,whether this will get me a franchise is another matter.

It seems very hard to get a business earning 1 million profit per year in Thailand.

I suppose anyone thats earning that doesnt want to sell.

I did notice a paintball business thats been advertised on sunbelts site for about 12 months.The price seems to be good.Obvoiusly the lands under lease,so im not sure of the rent,but it could be good with the right business flair.

A piece of advice i got from a friend last time i was in Pattaya was to stay away from buying Gyms,apparently one man in Pattaya owns several and has a monolopy. I wont give up my search,however it seems the same businesses everyday advertised on sunbelt. There must be some good businesses out there,if worst comes to the worst then i maybe buy a small bar let a thai run it for me and will stay in australia and just work my present job,visiting thailand for a week every few months.Getting back to the franchise topic,im positive i saw on sunbelts website about 12 months ago a franchise miini mart in pattaya selling for 1 million baht,so whether he has private convenience stores for sale i dont know.

Edited January 16, 2005 by billyboy

[ProThaiExpat]

Having spent a good five years in the legal side of franchising on a ntational level in the U.S., back when the concept was really taking hold, I can offer some generic insight into the business model.

Traditionally, frachises appeal to companies that don't have much capital to expand and rely on franchisees captial to do that.

Once the franchise business is expanded, most companies try to buy back the successful ones, as they are better run by company employees. McDonald's got into a lot of trouble trying to force "buy back" provisons.

You represent the ideal potential franchisee as you express a desire to operate the business "hands off". To the contrary, franchises work well only as a "mom and pop" operation, with the owners closely monitoring the operation, and, in fact, providing uncompensated labor, relying only on profit for reward.

McDonald's has morphed into subsidiary companies as "francishees" with multiple store locations and quality control. The cost of ensuring "quality control" and "brand conformance" are the big headaches of franchisors and where there big expense is, ie. in having "detail" men, who are really enforcers, keeping the "moms and pops" in line.

Paying a percentage of your gross to the franchisor means they get paid before you do, even when you are losing money, just like rent. You may find that they tie you into their products as well, so they have a motive to inflate your product cost to their benefit as well.

Thailand's laws are not as enforceable or are enforced as the western countries, so there may be a lot more latitude in running your own business, even in a franchise.

A good manager is essential if your not there everyday and good managers are hard to come by, as if they are any good, their running their own business or are very expensive to hire.

My observatons in Thailand are that it is a nation of "shopkeepers", many willing to sit there all day for a few hundred baht profit. My view is that competition from Thais is very strong in any line of endeavor, so expats need to focus on a business where their talents will raise them above the competition or their nationality has an appeal.

If you do go the franchise route, keep in mind no franchise agreement is "standard", although your bargening position is weak. Try to ensure that you have product choice freedom in a mini-mart, as your location and your customers will dictate what successful products will be, not a national franchise "model".

Good luck, you will need it.

I was in the Subway in Carrefour in Pattaya just after it openend last year, you can't ask for better foot traffic than there. Talk to the young farang manager there. He might have been a franchisor employee or the franchisee, but his experience would be invaluable.

An example of why "on site" management is essential was Subway's experience with their customers, me being one of them. Having years of experience with Subway, I went into line and followed my sanwich "down the line", customizing it as called for in the concept. My Thai friend merely ordered the sandwich and then went and sat down. None the wiser. I was not paying any attention. As a result, his sandwich was "adopted" and customized by another customer, and his order was "lost".

The Thais working the counter, were incapable of instructing another Thai what was required to ensure a properly ordered sandwich. Chaos ensued until the falang manager got involved.

Our post disaster conversation surrounded the issue of training Thais to train customers, certainly a cultural problem that may require employment criteria regarding the personaliites of the Thais hired. Perhaps good signing would likewise help, but keep in mind all the work, advertising and effort Burger King went into inorder to encourage its customers to customize their fast food order.

Edited January 17, 2005 by ProThaiExpat

[Digger]

I hope they approve foreigners,i think family mart would.

On WCR .his car rental business i know is for sale but i have no exp in cars,i dont know how car rentals would do in Pattaya anyway considering most tourists rent motorbikes. I have about 4 mil max to invest in a business,i suppose i should say around 3 mil to keep some aside,whether this will get me a franchise is another matter.

It seems very hard to get a business earning 1 million profit per year in Thailand.

I suppose anyone thats earning that doesnt want to sell.

I did notice a paintball business thats been advertised on sunbelts site for about 12 months.The price seems to be good.Obvoiusly the lands under lease,so im not sure of the rent,but it could be good with the right business flair.

A piece of advice i got from a friend last time i was in Pattaya was to stay away from buying Gyms,apparently one man in Pattaya owns several and has a monolopy. I wont give up my search,however it seems the same businesses everyday advertised on sunbelt. There must be some good businesses out there,if worst comes to the worst then i maybe buy a small bar let a thai run it for me and will stay in australia and just work my present job,visiting thailand for a week every few months.Getting back to the franchise topic,im positive i saw on sunbelts website about 12 months ago a franchise miini mart in pattaya selling for 1 million baht,so whether he has private convenience stores for sale i dont know.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There is a big car rental market for holidaymakers here. Try and get a rental car of Budget or Avis in peak season - very difficult. Very low depreciation of cars here and if the business is sound, you can finance new cars through the business. Seems quite a strong business model to me, with small amount of maintenance from owners side. Getting cars serviced is cheap as well.

No idea about paintball business model other than I would not pay to do paintballing in 30 degree heat and then put on some smelly boiler suit and head protection to run around a field and get even hotter.

[Sunbelt Asia]

http://sunbeltnetwork.com/buyers/business-...=BANGKTH0011254

http://sunbeltnetwork.com/buyers/business-...=BANGKTH0011138

http://sunbeltnetwork.com/buyers/business-...=BANGKTH0011081

http://sunbeltnetwork.com/buyers/business-...=BANGKTH0011066

http://sunbeltnetwork.com/buyers/business-...=BANGKTH0011007

http://sunbeltnetwork.com/buyers/business-...d=BANGKTH001905

I did notice a paintball business thats been advertised on sunbelts site for about 12 months.The price seems to be good.Obvoiusly the lands under lease,so im not sure of the rent,but it could be good with the right business flair.

Too much of a niche for you in my opinion. You have to be good at marketing for this type of business.

,if worst comes to the worst then i maybe buy a small bar let a thai run it for me and will stay in australia and just work my present job,visiting thailand for a week every few months.

Many absentee owners with the larger basrs but with the smaller pubs, with no system in place. It could be financial suicide. The foreigners go to the smaller bar because of YOU. They want to drink with you and tell them war stories.

Getting back to the franchise topic,im positive i saw on sunbelts website about 12 months ago a franchise miini mart in pattaya selling for 1 million baht,so whether he has private convenience stores for sale i dont know.

Have one coming up in an excellent location in Bangkok. The seller has heart problems and is selling six companies.

www.sunbeltasia.com