
Originally Posted by
enoveso
Hi,
I went to Manila two weekends ago to attend the exhibits related to the franchise expo event held in Mall of Asia. I talked to franchise people and gathered a lot of material. I wanted to look into it because I was planning to get a food cart franchise for Cebu.
I was discouraged because for one, many of the good brands have a clause for a 5% share of your gross revenue. Please note, it's taken from gross, not from net income, so whether you're making money or not, you pay them. And if you happen to be lucky enough to get a lease agreement with SM, they too have a clause for a share from your gross revenue. Talk about double-taxation. Actually, triple, if you count the government's cut, which is always there.
One thing I also realized from interviewing and talking to other people with franchise experience is that a franchise is not a guarantee for success. I know of someone who had a franchise for Monterey meats. The business went bankrupt. They later opened a franchise for a famous food brand from Manila in SM foodcourt, Cebu. Within a year or so, they had to close it.
These were people who had a lot of money. In bisaya: taas ug pisi. But they still couldn't make it succeed. The local market is very nuanced. You really need to study whether your product will sell locally.
I haven't given up on food carts though. But my plan is to develop my own brand. I'm doing it right now.