Sept. 25 – In the Middle Ages, the French word “franchise” indicated the granting of a privilege from a sovereign thanks to which States and citizens became autonomous. This is the origin of the term with which we now indicate a contract between a “franchisor,” who grants to another entrepreneur, the “franchisee,” the right to exercise a service activity, production of goods or resale of products, using the brand of the frachisor’s. In Italy, where the phenomenon dates back to September 18, 1970, when a great distribution company inaugurated in Fiorenzuola the first of 55 directly-managed shops for ten affiliates, franchising generates a turnover of more than €23 billion, according to data provided by the Assofranchising 2012 report. As it becomes clear from the same report, edited in collaboration with the Permanent Observatory on Franchising, the Italian franchising networks continue their development abroad with growth rates of absolute relevance. The study, which is based on 2012 data, sees 938 franchisors operating in Italy (to be considered as such, a franchisor must have at least 3 sales points between direct sales and franchising). Among these, there are 212 companies that have formally developed at international level their franchising format. The numbers of brands operating abroad is in slight decrease compared to 2011 (-4.1 %). This is mainly due to the volatility of the brands that attempt an entry into foreign countries with a first sales point that does not receive a sufficiently positive response to further expand the business. The figures related to foreign stores are however in a marked increase. In 2012, the international franchisees were 7.714, for a 5.1% increase compared to the previous survey. The figure confirms the growth of more structured franchisors, active in foreign markets for longer periods of time.
