If, at the start of his professional career, Mathieu Gerber felt like an entrepreneur at heart, he could not imagine setting out to create a business alone.
“I wanted to fly on my own but I had brakes.
It’s the frankness that helped me take the plunge
,” recalls the current manager of soon to be two Carrefour City in Toulouse.
Like many franchisees, he considers this mode of business operation to be a win-win partnership.
A strength
Indeed, a contract governs the relationship between the franchisor and the franchisee, two legally independent entities, and sets out the rights and duties of each.
The franchisor provides the business manager with a brand and its notoriety and has the obligation to transfer its know-how which brings together all the sales, management, marketing techniques, IT and logistics tools developed and proven. by the sign.
It must also guarantee training and assistance throughout the duration of the contract.
“This is a strong obligation for the franchisor
,” underlines Olivier Mignot, partner at Franchise Management.
To benefit from this know-how and assistance, the franchisee pays an entry fee and royalties to the brand and undertakes to respect a certain number of constraints.
In this system, the franchisee becomes a business manager in a defined and secure framework since he relies on a proven brand and name.
He nevertheless remains the sole master on board because he carries out his activity within his own company, separate from that of the franchisor.
As for the latter, he finds in the franchisee a partner who is both entrepreneurial and financial.
If it were to develop its brand and its network without franchisees, it would have to proceed in a more traditional way: either by self-financing, one point of sale after another, or resort to bank credit or even call on investors in order to accelerate movement.
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The desire to undertake and a spirit of initiative are essential for the future franchisee, but he or she must also know how to fit into a mold and work within a given framework.
“We know that we will have elements to respect, such as the graphic charter, supply methods… It's the rules of the game. But we are not alone.
I really see this partnership relationship as a strength,”
says Mathieu Gerber.
Support from the network head is, in fact, very reassuring for franchise candidates who do not necessarily have initial business management experience or who do not know the activity in which they choose to embark. .
According to the 19th edition of the annual franchise survey of the Banque Populaire and the French Franchise Federation (FFF), this is even the main motivation indicated by the candidates.
“The franchisee must demonstrate a certain humility,”
considers Olivier Mignot.
He is the business manager and alone in charge but he is not the founder, the one who started from scratch.
He is developing a model that he did not create himself.
He must therefore accept that his success is built with others and that he uses common know-how.”
Another necessary quality: developing a certain team spirit.
Being a franchisee means evolving in a network, exchanging with others and making your contribution.
“A good franchisee must have integrated the spirit of team sport.
He must be able to network, work with others and collaborate with his peers on a long-term basis.
It is thanks to the collective that it will evolve
,” insists the expert.
New opportunities
Despite a tense economic context, the desire to create a business remains strong among the French, particularly among young people.
“We are seeing a rejuvenation of franchise candidates
,” underlines Olivier Mignot.
Some younger franchisors, particularly in restaurants, in the Pizza Cozy or Basilic & Co networks, for example, have broken the codes and are recruiting candidates in their image, therefore younger.
This is striking in conventions
.
Markets have also become significantly digitalized.
Young entrepreneurs better integrate digital tools and are more agile in this world.”
Indeed, since the health crisis, their use has greatly developed: in 2022, 85% of franchisees communicated on social networks, compared to 75% in 2021, and more and more are using the internet to make appointments. YOU.
If the recruitment of franchisees is getting younger, the model still offers new professional opportunities to those who would like to start a business after 40 years.
In 2022, according to the franchise's annual survey, 76% of those who wanted to get started were former employees.
Finally, the franchise also attracts women looking for professional retraining and a more flexible organization of their working time.
“But they still put up a lot of barriers,”
regrets Olivier Mignot.
The networks must address them more.”