FRANCHISING platform Easy Franchise said it hopes to increase the number of active franchisors in its system to as many as 150 by the end of the year.
“We are looking to end the year with 100 to 150 active franchisors. It is great because it is a community,” Easy Franchise Co-Founder RJ Ledesma said in an interview.
“What we often see from people is revenge spending, but there is also revenge business — people who reoriented their priorities to investing in business,” he added.
To date, the platform has about a hundred registered franchisors but only around 50 active franchisors.
“Right now, we have 30 to 50 franchisors who are very active in our system. And we constantly incubate new franchisors and that’s one of the best things that we have,” he said.
According to Mr. Ledesma, the pandemic, despite affecting foot traffic in bricks-and-mortar stores, also generated opportunities for franchising.
“The great thing is that during the pandemic there were a lot of new and innovative ideas and what we are looking at is how we can turn these ideas into sustainable franchise concepts,” he said.
“Easy Franchise is here to help those people who have great ideas for products and services who think they can turn it into a franchise,” he added.
The shift to work-from-home or hybrid setups, Mr. Ledesma said, has driven innovation in the franchising industry.
“Right now, there are so many franchises that you can do from the house. SariSuki, water franchising, and other services are franchises that can be done from the house. Work-from-home setups opened up many opportunities,” he said.
However, Mr. Ledesma noted that franchisors and franchisees are now faced with a need to technologically develop their operations.
“There are many ways that digital technology can help the franchising industry. The most obvious one is dashboards,” Mr. Ledesma said, noting that it allows both the franchisors and franchisees to monitor their businesses.
“Sometimes they also need help with point-of-sale systems, operational systems, and connecting them to food delivery partners,” he added.
Between Aug. 28 and Sept. 28, Easy Franchise will be conducting an online franchise sale which is hopes will make franchising more accessible to business owners and investors.
According to Mr. Ledesma, the sale could include offers for Mister Donut, Ate Rica’s Bacsilog, Razon’s by Glenn, Aquaskin, H2O Mineral Plus, and Cha Tuk Chak milk tea, among others. — Justine Irish D. Tabile