Mexico Feature Articles

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a volatile economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, innovating, and continuing to grow, whether domestically or overseas.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a volatile economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, innovating, and continuing to grow, whether domestically or overseas.

Amit Kleinberger rattles off the business start-ups he's launched like a general listing the cities he's seized.

Pollo Campero will open three Houston locations by year-end featuring its new design and menu.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a volatile economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, innovating, and continuing to grow, whether domestically or overseas.

Jack Riggs didn't follow a simple straight line to franchising. In fact, it was rather crooked. But as it turned out, every twist and turn in his life helped him become the successful entrepreneur he is today.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a challenging economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, innovating, and continuing to grow, whether domestically or overseas.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a challenging economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, innovating, and continuing to grow, whether domestically or overseas.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a challenging economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a challenging economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities. With the recent flurry of M&A activity in franchising, we've expanded this month's column.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

Opening franchise units in nontraditional locations has been the domain of specialists--but not anymore. With the economy still slumping, lending still tight, and suburban expansion at a standstill, many multi-unit franchisees are exploring the viability of sites such as airports, hotels, colleges, senior centers, highway rest stops, hospitals, and military bases.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will bring you Good News each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And as the U.S. economy struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities - and this month, we report on an overseas franchisor set to open its first U.S. location, as well as several new entrants to franchising.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will bring you Good News each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow - despite the economy… maybe even because of it. And as the U.S. economy struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities through master franchise deals.

Taking a franchise brand international is, in a sense, the final frontier for growth. It's where many franchise brands that have begun - and been successful - in the U.S turn when they seek expansion. It's a strategy that often occurs in part because of growth that has saturated domestic markets and territories. Typically, larger more established franchise brands begin looking across borders for untapped markets and potential growth. It's an expansion strategy that's not new. But during the past couple of decades as franchising has continued to grow as a popular business model, the international growth strategy has been on the rise. International franchising can also provide opportunities for new and existing franchisees looking for expansion options. There are opportunities as near as Mexico and Canada and as far as the Middle East. In one sense, international franchising can be a relatively smooth and easy process. After all, the franchise concept is built around infrastructure, simplicity, replication, and streamlined operations. What works in one place generally works in another. And many international markets are wide open and untapped and offer enormous potential for franchisors - with the right products, services, and business culture.

Build-A-Bear Workshop, in partnership with WiredSafety.org, is promoting October as "Stop Cyberbullying Month" at its stores and in its online virtual world, buildabearville.com. Cyberbullying, a growing problem among children, tweens, and teens, made national headlines in 2006 when a 13-year-old girl committed suicide after being bullied online by a group that included the mother of one of her former friends. The franchisor is focusing on online safety education and how to help prevent cyberbullying through several programs, by providing activities and materials to promote safe online 
play for kids, and by participating in a Stop Cyberbullying Coalition event on Capitol Hill on October 13.

Savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy. Each month FUSR will bring you good news, highlighting brands that are bucking the trend by adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And as you'll see below, U.S. franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion while the domestic economy remains slow.

Conventional wisdom has it that young franchises are jumping on the area developer bandwagon to grow quickly and establish their presence in the most efficient way.

As highlighted in last quarter's Investment Insights column, most of us are not particularly suited to be wise investors. In fact, neuroscientists are increasingly proving what veteran investors and asset managers alike have long suspected: Individuals make a lot of not-so-rational choices when it comes to dealing with their money, investments and financial affairs.

Fish tales about the "big one that got away" are legendary. Franchise salespeople have their own stories of big ones that got away, too. But the good ones also tell tales of the near-misses they pulled from the fire-- and of how, at the eleventh hour, whether through fancy footwork or a simple stroke of luck, they landed the deal after all.

When Philip Nye came to the United States from Colombia 18 years ago, he carried a visa, spoke English, and had the necessary resources to buy his Sir Speedy franchise in Raleigh, N.C.

On January 25, 2006, an amendment ("Amendment") to the Mexican Industrial Property Law ("IPL") was published in the Federal Official Gazette. The Amendment was published after a long discussion initiated by Congress in early 2005, and became effective on January 26, 2006. The Amendment's final provisions were the result of a very effective lobbying campaign by major players in the franchising sector and, fortunately for the industry, Congress eliminated many of the overly restrictive aspects of the initial bill that could have unnecessarily hampered the industry. In the end, Congress' objective of providing more protection to franchisees was well balanced with the legitimate rights of franchisors. For example, certain ultra-protectionist provisions for franchisees originally contained in the bill, such as certain rights of first refusal in franchisees' favor and the right to request cancellation of registration of franchisor's trademarks in certain cases, were not incorporated into the Amendment.

When doing business in Mexico, it is essential to establish relationships with associates who are well connected. This requires checking their backgrounds and reputations to determine the depth and breadth of their personal and professional networks. Joining local social clubs and business organizations, participating in the American Chamber of Commerce in Mexico, and visiting the nearest U.S. consulate and the Commercial Attaché at the U.S. Embassy are useful ways to obtain such information. Cultivating personal relationships with your Mexican banker and local executives of your joint venture partnership also provides access to this kind of business intelligence.

There is no better way to appreciate the popularity and economic buoyancy of franchising south of the border than to have witnessed the phenomenon of the 29th International Franchise Fair, held from March 8 to 10 at Mexico City's World Trade Center. This three-day event rivals franchise trade expos in any other part of the globe. The event receives almost unprecedented press and TV media attention and typically delivers a high-profile exposure of both Mexican and non-Mexican franchise brands.