The success of a business holds on to its location. Certain criteria have to be studied in priority. Review detail.

pedestrian Areas deserted, shops closed, store fronts to the abandonment… This finding emerged in a number of medium-sized cities. To halt this phenomenon, the government has committed last December a plan of 5 billion euros, called “Action in the heart of town”. The idea : give life back to city centres, left behind and facilitate, in particular, the opening of new businesses. This decision is applauded by many mayors who not only are concerned about the proliferation of vacant commercial in their cities, but who also see the weakening of the attendance of the parks business or commercial centers that are installed on their common.

The government is committed to a plan of 5 billion euros to give new life to city centres sought after by the networks, as well as here in Colmar.

To the network and the franchisees, this is not a bad news. “These days, the local release, especially because of the big chains have converged or because they lower the curtain”, said Loïc Bernard, the master franchisee of Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen. But the possibility of finding a bargain is rare and limited to certain areas. For Emmanuel Le Roch, ceo of Procos (Federation for urban planning and the development of specialized commercial), “large cities retain a commercial activity rather dynamic, and the real estate market follows, of course, the same trend”. In the medium-sized cities and small, “the decline in activity has certainly given a certain power of negotiation” in the face of the donors and sellers. But beware : “The trade, it is the flow. And it’s not a good location, not even expensive, if there is not good flow !”

The franchisee has little choice in the matter : to find out its local, it must comply with the spatial strategy and the recommendations of the network. The locations are classified in three main categories : the numbers 1 (most expensive), which take advantage of the continuity of the business ; the numbers bis (perpendicular to the channel numbers 1) ; and the numbers 2, dedicated to shops (food, laundry, child care…) or destination (to which the consumer will move because they offer very specific services).

clear criteria

signs must be specific in their criteria. “For our three formats (7 square meters for the corner, 20 square meters for the kiosk and from 40 to 80 square meters for the restaurant), we ask for a location of city centre, on a busy road – a pedestrian street, district, student, tourist area or office space”, provides details on Gregory Clement, co-founder of the network Bagel Corner. “It is also necessary that this local area (which does not need an extraction, or a chimney) has a linear window of at least 4 meters, behind which we place the ingredients.” But this is not all. At the end of seven years, the brand has learned to sniff out the places that are more or less conducive to the sale of bagels. “We have seen that it is not interesting to settle near a pole of ready-to-wear, as the barges do not come here to eat,” gliding Grégory Clement. “We operate in the reverse very well in close proximity to other restaurants or bakeries brand, like Columbus, Paul or Brioche Dorée.”

In the network of Bagel Corner, a location in the city center close to restaurants and bakeries, in sign, is ideal. It also requires that the local has a linear window of at least 4 metres.

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Keeping your cool

For the candidate, the choice of the local ad hoc is crucial, because the franchise contract is related to a specific address ; not a question of moving (same two numbers later !) without the approval of the head of the network. During the exploration, it is necessary to “keep the head cool,” advises Laurent Kruch, president of the Institute of studies and geomarketing Territoires & Marketing, working with many great brands. “The candidate must ask itself whether it can afford the location that it was in the line of sight, in considering including the sales generate to pay his rent and expenses.” It is generally considered that the local should not cost more than 5 to 10 % of the turnover. The “rate of effort” of the future unit, that is to say the ratio rent/turnover, should also be in the average of the entities of the network”.

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All of the keys to negotiate the franchise agreement The franchise, a path towards social lift How to choose its franchise

Quantify and qualify the client

It will of course also carry out a market study specific to quantify and qualify the potential customer. And this, by counting, observing, or surveying the passers-by in key moments of the day and of the week. “And the ideal is to look at whether the company will be in complementarity with its environment and to gauge the competition”, adds Laurent Kruch. To reassure himself, it may be appropriate to use a research institute, which will help to identify the most and least of a local and an estimate of the potential sales at this address. “This study costs on average 3,000 euro”, indiLaurent Kruch. Given the stakes, it would be a shame to rely on a single empirical…