Abstract
M.B.A.
Franchising systems in South Africa have experienced high and sustained
growth over the last decade. The South African government has recognised and
supports business format franchising as a low risk way of creating jobs,
transferring skills and creating wealth.
At the forefront of this growth, is the fast food franchising industry, which is made
up of a mix of global brands and a significant few, highly successful, locally
founded, franchised operations based on Portuguese or American cultures.
The fast food industry in South Africa also consists of a number of successful
"non franchised" Indian fast food operations, founded by South Africans of Indian
descent. None of these entrepreneurs have taken the next logical step and
developed their businesses into national franchises.
This study sought to uncover the factors inhibiting the franchising of Indian fast
food stores in South Africa and to determine whether there was a market for
Indian fast foods amongst a sample of consumers.
The findings were that the independent entrepreneurs lacked the skills and
knowledge to enter franchising as the franchisor. In addition, there was a general
mistrust of the franchising system and doubts as to whether there was sufficient
broad appeal of Indian fast foods. The results of the consumer survey however
suggested that Indian fast foods were popular across a cross section of the
population.
Consequently, the report recommended that existing Indian fast food
entrepreneurs develop strategies to exploit the market opportunities presented
and suggested that it is the entrepreneur who franchises first, that will gain first more advantage through pre-empting real estate and shaping customer preferences and tastes.