Large business operation through franchising Essay Example

market, Wimpy's growth has since broadened to include high streets, service stations and other leisure complexes.

Despite now being the third largest fast food chain in Britain, Wimpy was the first to introduce the new kiosk concept. In addition, Fina and British Petroleum are franchisees of Wimpy while Road Chef is their largest operation. Despite the BSE crisis in the 90s, Wimpy prioritized the safety of their customers over profit, distinguishing it from McDonald's and Subway.

Also read: Scientific Management Examples McDonalds

Despite their efforts to prioritize the wellbeing of their customers, Wimpy remains in third place among fast food franchises in the UK. This is evidenced by their decision to stop using British beef and remove all beef products from their restaurants. In order to provide maximum assistance and supervision to their franchisees, Wimpy has created three different types of eateries and offers their unique concept of "table service" in three variations, ensuring that their franchising concept is affordable and attractive to all.

Wimpy offers a variety of dining options, including table service restaurants, express units, and kiosks that serve a limited take-away menu. Table service restaurants are typically located on high streets or in shopping precincts. Express units provide customers with quick service and a wide range of meal deals. Wimpy kiosks use minimal space to supply freshly cooked food to their customers while offering a limited take-away menu for ordering.

McDonald's has become the largest fast food chain globally, despite being the second to enter the UK market after Wimpy. With over 26,500 restaurants in more than 119 countries, it serves around 39 million customers daily and is instantly recognizable worldwide. McDonald's success is especially

impressive given that it started with just one restaurant in the UK in 1974, twenty years after Wimpy. Its popularity stems from its ability to thrive in space-limited settings like leisure complexes, forecourts, cinemas, convenience stores, and sports arenas. Presently there are almost 2,000 McDonald's outlets across UK including Woolwich's high street- where their massive ascent began.

McDonald's attributes its success as the world's largest franchising company to its superior training of franchisees. The company provides hands-on training and necessary resources to ensure profitability and success in the restaurant business. Its field operations and franchising staff work directly with franchisees from the start of the training program to optimize sales and profits by assisting with quality service and cleanliness. Additionally, McDonald's offers extensive support in marketing and advertising by providing an award-winning ceremony that reaches potential customers worldwide. The corporation requires every restaurant to allocate at least four percent of its gross sales annually towards advertising purposes and promoting the brand.

This is done to maintain and strengthen McDonald's dominant position in the fast food market in the UK. McDonald's franchisees work with local agencies to advertise and develop new resources. This gives each McDonald's restaurant an incomparable advantage, contributing to the global brand's unparalleled status in the UK and worldwide food service industry. McDonald's provides franchisees with extensive and ongoing training through 'Hamburger University' and more than 20 regional training departments.

Along with top-notch training resources, the industry-leading fast food chain, McDonald's, boasts a highly developed network of optimal suppliers in its supply chain department. Comparatively, Subway entered the UK market much later, opening its inaugural location in Brighton in 1996. Nevertheless, the brand has already

established over 400 outlets throughout the UK and Ireland and aims to double this figure within the upcoming year.

The Subway chain, the world's largest submarine sandwich franchise, aims to have opened over 2,010 outlets in the region by 2010. Despite being in the UK fast food market for only nine years compared to Wimpy's 51 years, Subway has overtaken its UK market share. The chain currently operates 22,500 outlets in over 75 countries due to the flexibility of its franchise system that allows for both individually and corporately owned locations. Additionally, Subway has been awarded the coveted Number 1 spot in Entrepreneur magazine's 26th annual "Franchise 500" rankings, the most comprehensive system of franchise rankings in the world. The Subway chain has received this prestigious honor 13 times in the past 17 years.

The Subway franchise system is attractive to entrepreneurs worldwide due to its low investment, ease of operation, and substantial support for franchisees. Subway credits their triumphs to low start up costs, adaptable space requirements, simple operation, and a vast array of services for their franchisees. Although Wimpy was established before McDonald's and Subway in the UK fast food industry, they have yet to reach their level of success, market share, and recognition. Wimpy might have pursued the right growth approach through franchising; however, they did not thoroughly investigate the UK fast food consumer market like McDonald's and Subway did. Moreover, compared to McDonald's and Subway, Wimpy franchisees are not provided with similar opportunities to develop their franchising skills since Wimpy does not provide adequate franchising expertise and support services.

Wimpy lacks consumer awareness due to non-existent publicity, while McDonald's benefits from

constant media coverage and advertising campaigns like "I'm lovin' it." On the other hand, Subway informs their customers about their fast food outlets and offers healthy menu items thanks to the use of business dieticians who provide nutritional information.

Subway went to great lengths to promote the success story of Cody Lawler and Jared, two regular Americans who had been severely overweight but managed to shed an impressive amount of weight thanks to Subway's healthy menu. By selecting natural food options and staying active, both individuals were successful in their health goals, with the guidance of Subway's professional dieticians.

Providing finance is essential for businesses looking to grow through franchising. Franchising can help businesses develop by generating profits. Capital is often limited for new projects, making franchising an ideal option for providing the necessary funding. Franchising also offers the opportunity to expand globally through unit dispersion, which is not available through other expansion strategies. Profits made by a large number of units in franchising can enable the business to purchase the entire structure, resulting in significant cost savings for individual franchisees and enhancing their profit margins. This would give them a competitive advantage over their rivals.

The strategy of franchising has been successful as it involves utilizing an already established plan for success. Franchises can expand on a worldwide scale to increase recognition of their brand, allowing managers to concentrate on strategic development rather than supervision. However, issues may emerge if franchisees stray from the guidelines set by the franchisor.

Difficulties in managing all franchisees can lead to disputes and potential legal action, ultimately harming the franchisor's brand and image. These conflicts may arise from issues such as overbearing

behavior or failure to comply with the franchise agreement. A single failing location can impact the entire franchise business, leaving the franchisee liable. Furthermore, adhering strictly to the prescribed format of the agreement may stifle creativity and hinder growth for individual franchise units.

Creating a franchise is a challenging process as the franchisor receives all benefits from the achievements of the franchisee, even if they exceed expectations. Additionally, the franchisor holds complete authority over any expansion plans made by the franchisee. Seeking expert guidance early on is essential to ensure success and profitability for both parties. As long as the contract terms are met and trademark established, the franchisor will maintain control over the franchisee.

Franchisees have autonomy over their unit, but must adhere to the franchisor's rules to prevent dissatisfaction. Prospective franchisees should research the network and confirm compatibility with their work style before signing a contract that outlines details such as royalties, franchise fees, and revenue percentage.

Joining a franchise network may involve extra fees, such as advertising costs. However, success is not assured due to the presence of two types of networks. Established franchises can be expensive and require the franchisee to fund crucial aspects of the business. On the other hand, opting for a lesser-known franchise entails higher risk but may also be more affordable.

While many franchisors prioritize creating numerous franchises, some such as McDonald's also prioritize the needs and wants of their franchisees. It is essential to approach joining any franchise network with caution, even though lesser-known franchisors may not be the ideal choice. However, careful consideration before making a decision is crucial. Joining a franchise network is ultimately vital for businesses seeking

expansion. This essay showcases successful franchises like McDonald's, Subway, and Wimpy that demonstrate how franchising can benefit potential franchisees in starting up and running a business.

According to the British Franchise Association, Subway's success in the UK demonstrates that a franchisee can also become a franchisor and expand its network globally. The association's recent data indicates a low risk of franchise network bankruptcy at 5 percent, with a high chance of franchisee survival at 95 percent after five years. Thus, franchising is an excellent opportunity for business growth. (http://www.britishfranchiseassociation.co.)

Wimpy and McDonald's are excellent examples of franchisors who provide support and guidance to their franchisees. Wimpy gives its franchisees complete autonomy over their units by sharing its successful formula, while also offering support, business expertise, and franchising knowledge. They carefully assess franchisee motivation, commitment, dedication to their objectives of business success. McDonald's stands out due to its dominant status and ability to generate profits, offering the most effective franchisee programs, including reliable service support and expertise. Subway focuses its service support on expert training for potential franchisees.

Although introduced to the UK fast food market over forty years after Wimpy, McDonald's achieved great success in the country due to their franchising approach, allowing them to surpass Wimpy's market share. Despite the benefits of franchising, it is important for potential franchisees to approach it professionally and be aware of associated risks. In conclusion, becoming the biggest player in a business through franchising is not guaranteed.

Mendelsohn, M.

, (2004), The Guide to Franchising, (Seventh Edition), London: Thomson Learning.2. Adams, J. N.

can be unified andas: The seventh edition of "The Guide to

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, (1981), London: Butterworth-Heinemann. Franchising: Practice and Precedents in Business Format Franchising. 3. Campbell, D., Houston, B.

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The Journal of Private Equity published an article titled "Overcoming the Financial Constraints on Small Firms Growth: The Case of Franchising" in Spring 2003, Vol. 6, Issue 2, on page 61. A web document from Wimpy, located in the United Kingdom, is available online in 2005 at http://www. and may offer additional insight. The paragraph is enclosed within HTML

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The website wimpyburgers.co.uk/index.html was accessed on April 12th, 2005 at 12:39pm. In addition, Wimpy's online presence in the United Kingdom can be found at http://www.

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Subway's official website in the United Kingdom can be accessed online at http://www.subway.com/subwayroot/index.aspx. This information was accessed on April 27th, 2005 at 15:17pm.

The Subway company promotes the message "Eat Fresh" and operates online in the United Kingdom. Their website can be found at http://www.subway.co.uk/business/index.The United Kingdom website "http://www.asp.uk/" can be accessed at 16:46pm on April 28th, 2005. An online resource called "Is Franchising For Me?" is also available on the same website.The resource found at sba.gov/opc/pubs/fran.pdf was accessed on April 29th, 2005 at 12:37pm. The HTML tag

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http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050316/BUSINESS02/503160316/1003/business, Papa Dan's is now offering franchising online in the United Kingdom since 2005.

An alliance has been formed by a food franchise in the United Kingdom, as reported by Business Franchise (2005) online. The article can be accessed at http://web20.epnet.com/externalframe.asp?tb=1&_ug=sid+44A3AFB4%DFFE7%D4A67%D9ADB%D7FF2FF4C3972@sessionmgr5+dbs+buh++cp++1+A396&_us=hs_True_cst_0;1;22345&fi=buh_16854384_AN&lpdf=true&pdfs=444K&bk=C&tn=5878tpCPes_cs_clientaspT_PANPK16854384rn22345dbbuhis0955789XscRSDbuhTitleBusinessFranchiseyear2005bkC

The online publication titled "A European Perspective on the Success of the Franchise Relationship" was released in 2005 and is accessible at http://www.wmin.ac.uk/IFRC/Conf951. Hailing from the United Kingdom, this webpage contains this information.

Access was made to a pdf document at 15:49pm on May 4th, 2005. Additionally, the website of the British Franchise Association was accessed online in the United Kingdom at 13:17pm on May 5th, 2005.