With around fourteen business sectors to choose from, the range of franchise business opportunities goes beyond just fast food and retail concepts. An important consideration when choosing a franchise is to align your choice to what interests you or what you may have experience in. So, if you come from the corporate world and are looking for something different… read on!

The ongoing globalization has resulted in a fast growing and rapidly changing the marketplace and one of the most exciting franchisors to join FASA has been BeztForex, currently the largest FX intermediary company in Sasfin Bank. They provide Foreign Exchange solutions for importers/exporters and investors, including overseas payments, buying and selling of foreign exchange and foreign exchange risk management. Despite a global meltdown currently being experienced, international trade is growing consistently as a direct result of the evolution of technology, expanding emerging market economies and trade agreements.

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“Being involved in franchising for most of my working life I have had the privilege and opportunity to experience the concept of franchising in South Africa in every form and fashion over the years” says Vera Valasis, Executive Director of the Franchise Association of South Africa. “So when the public hears the word ‘franchising’ my opinion is that they associate the concept, in most instances, with very well known brands and category market leaders and by extension assume that it means financial freedom for the owners for these franchised businesses. Therefore many aspiring franchisees are keen and eager to own a franchise in the belief that franchising is going to make them financially independent.”

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It crept up on us slowly and steadily… and we as consumers embraced it. The convenience of vegetables being cleaned, trimmed and packaged for our convenience; salads ready to eat in plastic containers with compartments for lettuce, tomatoes, olives and feta; fruit sliced for our convenience. Now that we are confronted with a global catastrophe of plastic polluting our world, we need to wake up and go back to doing things ‘the old fashioned way’ by hand-selecting loose produce and using paper bags.

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A brand that started with the desire for a cup of good coffee after an early morning cycle has turned into a franchise dedicated to pleasure through perfection, to sustainability through good ethical and fair price practices – making sure that their customers who range from seasoned professionals to avid cyclists – share their passion and come back for more.

Seeking coffee after their morning cycle, and no coffee shops open at that hour, Pieter Bloom, De Waal, and Antonie Basson, who have been friends since their high school days in Franschhoek, decided to start their own coffee shop that would be open at 6h30 so that they could have coffee after their rides.

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On 30 October 2015, the Competition Commission established the Grocery Retail Sector Market Inquiry (the “Inquiry”) with the purpose to assess amongst others, the impact of long-term lease agreements entered between property developers and national supermarket chains. 4 years on, the Inquiry has published preliminary findings and recommendations.

The Inquiry has reported that certain existing features in the grocery retail sector distort competition between national supermarket chains, wholesalers and independent retailers. In particular, the significant buying power that national supermarket chains wield over property developers and suppliers places them in a strong position to influence the terms of agreements by demanding exclusive leases, low rentals, and rebates which only they qualify for. Chains reviewed by the Inquiry include Shoprite, Pick n Pay, Woolworths, and Spar.

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The facts in education in South Africa are shocking;

• 80% of Grade 4 pupils cannot read comprehension.
•  After five years of school about half of the learners in South Africa cannot work out that 24 divided by three is eight.
• The 2019 Teaching and Learning International Survey (TAUS) found that South African teachers spend only 66% of their time teaching while the international average is 78%.

Educating the next generation is a collective responsibility and FASA member RAiN, a professional services company known for its broad-spectrum, organic solutions which address specific business and operational challenges, is behind an initiative called SchoolTree that is set to revolutionize educational operations in South Africa.

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An exposé on eNCA’s Check Point last week put the spotlight on the plight of franchisees who bought into a franchise that was not accredited by the Franchise Association of South Africa. Irregularities in the franchise contract, lack of support and unhappiness amongst franchisees were highlighted – giving franchising a bad rap.

Often, when FASA deals with enquiries and complaints from unsuspecting franchisees who apparently have been done in by a franchisor that appears to be a fly-by-night, one wonders why or how did it happen that they decided to buy a franchise from a franchise company that is not an accredited member for the Association. Despite the many warnings from the Franchise Association and others in the industry, it is a sad fact that many franchisees blindly buy into franchises without doing a thorough due diligence and fail to have considered the following:-

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It is with dismay that the Franchise Association of South Africa has learnt of the big risk of the return of load shedding predicted for late August or September which will once again have a devastating effect on small businesses.

Just two days ago one of the most well known business-to-business brands in South Africa stated that the brand lost no less than R8m in sales pertaining to just one sector of their business due to load shedding in March this year. Says Vera Valasis, Executive Director of FASA “renewed load shedding could be the proverbial ‘last straw that breaks the camel’s back’. Further loss of economic activity due to renewed load shedding is unaffordable and may push many small franchises to the brink of bankruptcy. The increase in labour costs, electricity, supply of goods, rentals, petrol and many other costs have more than doubled in the last ten years. However sales growth simply fell far short of having doubled over the same period which puts incredible pressure on profitability.”

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Are you one of those homeowners that urgently needs something fixed around the home but are at a loss as to where to find a reliable repair company? If you belong to one of the many suburban whatsapp groups, you could post your dilemma online but then get inundated with offers of assistance from both individuals and companies vying for your business. Whilst you might get a good referral there are also fly-by-night operators who trawl these groups waiting to scam unsuspecting homeowners.

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“Bottled water bottles do not contain BPA and therefore cannot leach BPA into the water they contain. On the contrary, bottled water bottles are made from PET, a food-grade plastic that is biologically inert if ingested is safe during handling, and is not a hazard if inhaled. As importantly, they can be reused and recycled.”

This is the message from Charlotte Metcalf, the Executive Director of the South African National Bottled Water Association in response to consumer queries received after a newspaper article asked ‘Is my bottled water bottle killing me?’

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