After a 9% increase in franchised stores last year, the General Delegate of the FFF is anticipating a slowdown in new franchise openings in France in 2024. While BPCE, the leading bank for franchise networks, has not confirmed this slowdown, Véronique Discours-Buhot analyses reasons for it.
France is Europe’s largest country for retail franchising, ahead of the U.K. and Germany. Why are there more and more integrated retailers opting for this model?
The shift from 100% integrated to mixed models (with integrated and franchised stores) is gathering pace. Increasingly, players who had not previously opted for franchising are starting to do so. We see this with Auchan, Boulanger and Weldom. Franchising enables them to open smaller stores in a concentrated catchment areas, particularly for town centres. At a time when some groups need to recoup cash in a difficult environment, this trend is gathering pace. This allows them to grow faster, with less equity, so that they can reach critical mass as quickly as possible.
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Article authors
Sophie Baqué
Chief Editor of mind Retail