India: Shaping the destiny of retail franchising 
Franchising is gaining worldwide acceptance, as a potent technique, to successfully establish, conduct and expand business. Franchising, which recently made a small foray in India, is exponentially expanding across the entire country. It is the growth driver of the Indian retailing network and is rapidly being adopted as the favored business model.

Reliable estimates indicate that, by 2010, organized retailing will treble in size, representing 10% of overall retailing in India. Moreover, franchising will continue to expand within the retailing pie, until it represents 50% of overall organized retail trade, comparable to major developed economies.

Several domestic companies have already adopted the franchising route, to fructify their expansion plans. It is viewed as a pioneering initiative, to benefit from a thriving retail sector. Some noteworthy features about the Indian market are:

• Franchising in India has been growing at an impressive rate of approximately 30% per annum over the past few years.

• Over 700 franchise systems are already operating in India. Approximately 10% of these systems are owned by international companies.

Key economic indicators augur well for retail franchising and invite active participation.