Australia’s franchise arena is a big pull for overseas residents looking to buy a business to enter the country, with Chinese applicants the most keen on becoming franchisees, according to new research from 10 Thousand Feet.
The research company’s latest study into the recruitment and expansion practices of AustraliaÕs franchise networks showed 35 percent of all enquiries from overseas residents came from Chinese nationals, followed by India and then South Africa.
Head of Intelligence at 10 Thousand Feet Ian Krawitz said “There has been a steady increase in interest in being a franchisee coming from Chinese residents looking to enter Australia on a business visa. The attractive lifestyle of Australia and the proven success of franchise models have lead to many Chinese residents applying to buy Australian franchises.”
The best franchises provide a proven system, marketing and an established brand. Krawitz said “The franchising format is proving increasingly popular for overseas residents entering Australia, particularly those from non English speaking backgrounds. Rather than starting a business from scratch in a new business environment, franchising provides a great opportunity for overseas residents to fast track their learning curve on the service culture, marketing practices and regulatory requirements of operating a business in Australia.”
Many franchisors are jumping on the back of this trend with franchisors going directly to migration services agents to make their franchise opportunities available to overseas residents.
Ian Singer, director from Australia Migrate who specialise in business visas for overseas residents entering Australia, said “We have many franchise systems approaching us to offer their franchise opportunities when we run seminars in South East Asia. The approach is proving popular for franchisors and visa applicants alike.”
It makes sense for applicants, but just because the capital is there and ready to take doesnÕt mean franchisors should rush in regardless, Krawitz said.
“Our research shows that only 15 percent of franchisors provide a cultural induction for franchisees from non-English speaking backgrounds. Unsurprisingly many franchisors complain that franchisees from non-English speaking backgrounds struggle to fit into the Australian business culture, particularly when it comes to customer service.
“Some franchisors are seeing the light and are not only putting in place cultural induction programs but are employing multi-lingual support managers to help transition franchisees from backgrounds particularly in South East Asia, which have a different service culture.
“The element of profitability speaks to business culture in general and encourages the transition to the Australian mentality of friendly customer service.”
Now into its third edition, the 2010 Franchisor Expansion Study was conducted via surveying 81 franchisors with data collection completed on the 23rd of July 2010.