The Philippine Franchise Association (PFA) said it is bent on helping more Filipino entrepreneurs scale up and become successful in their ventures as they recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Sales dipped at the height of the pandemic, but some brands have reported that sales in 2022 have already exceeded sales in 2019,” the association said.
PFA chairman emeritus Samie Lim was quoted in a report as saying that the industry will grow by at least 12 to 15 percent as the economy continues to recover.
Higher prices due to inflation is another factor that will add to revenues as consumers continue to spend on food, goods and other services.
The inflation rate in April slowed down to 6.6 percent from 7.6 percent in March. The average inflation in the first four months of the year stood at 7.9 percent.
Lim said growth in the industry would also come from the growing franchise brands outside of Metro Manila.
Cebu, for instance, has about 23 franchise brands registered under the PFA, and more are in the process of applying.
Franchising remains an attractive entry into business because of its proven system and business model with a high success rate compared to starting a business from scratch.
It is also the fastest and most viable way of expanding a business, thus creating more entrepreneurs, jobs and livelihoods.
The Philippines is said to be the seventh largest franchise market in the world, following Korea, India, the United States, Taiwan, Brazil and France. The sector contributes 7.8 percent to the country’s gross domestic product, creating two million direct and indirect jobs.
The PFA encourages more Filipinos to venture or invest in franchise businesses to create more jobs and boost trade in the country.
“We will continue to get new members, so franchising continues to be a growth strategy for entrepreneurs,” it said.
To promote franchising and create a new breed of entrepreneurs, the PFA invited 70 local and foreign franchise experts to share emerging strategies and business trends that will be critical to the continued growth of the industry in this age of global disruption in the upcoming Franchise Asia Philippines (FAPHL) International Conference 2023.
The conference, scheduled for June 7 to 8, 2023, at the SMX Convention Center Manila, is anchored on the theme: “Franchising Fast Forward.”
“The International Franchise Conference is one of several initiatives being conducted by the PFA to promote franchising as the best business strategy that aspiring entrepreneurs can practice in the face of various social and economic difficulties and to advance the local and international growth of more emerging Filipino brands,” said PFA president Chris Lim.
Lim said the industry wants to see more Filipino franchise brands graduate from serving the local markets and expand their wings to international marketplaces. Currently, there are about 20 Filipino franchise brands operating overseas.
One success story is Cebu’s homegrown coffee brand Bo’s Coffee, which now has a presence in the Middle East, particularly nine branches in Qatar and two in the United Arab Emirates. Earlier, the coffee chain said it is eyeing to open 20 new branches this year, on top of the 100 stores all over the Philippines.
PFA chairperson Sherill Quintana said the sessions and discussions during the conference are curated in a way that speakers and panelists can share future trends and prospects, operational excellence, and real-life strategic applications to boost forward the growth and success of franchising amid disruption and the ever-changing business landscape.
PFA tapped Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno as the keynote speaker. The conference will also feature seven plenary sessions, 12 concurrent area-focused track sessions, over 30 peer-to-peer business roundtable discussions and over 70 speakers, industry experts and facilitators.