Franchise essay

A franchise is a replication of a successful business idea. One benefit of Stephen Halpin opening a boots franchise is that is lowers the risk than if he opened up a business himself as ‘‘the retail optical services market is highly competitive’’. This is backed up in the case study as Stephen Haplin advises that the store he ‘’wanted to take on had been trading as a Boots Opticians for several years so it had financial records’’ this allowed Stephen Halpin to assess the financial viability of the store he wished to take on he was able to ascertain whether it was a good investment or not. In regards to the financial records Stephen Halpin was able to negotiate a ‘’franchise agreement setting out terms, conditions and fees that makes more certain ‘’both parties’’ to make money. With a franchise agreement that benefits both sides it minimises the risk that the business will not be commercially viable as with analysis of the financial records he is able to predict more accurately the profitability of the business. This provides a safeguard to his investment.

Furthermore another benefit of opening up one of the first Boots Opticians franchises under a well-known quality brand reduces the requirement to invest heavily in marketing the name. When contrasting it to a start us up business the business has to invest heavily to develop the brand name, however having an already trusted brand name which is diversifying into a different area means that money can be diverted from marketing to ensuring the quality of the service provided. Brand and quality are instrumental in winning and increasing the market share of the business. This is a win win situation for both franchisees and Boots and as Stephen Halpin advises in the case study it allowed him to get involved in the developing the operational systems. Increased market share leads to more potential customers. This is especially the case with the Boots franchise Stephen Halpin was involved in as it was one of the first