London Inc. Early Summer 2024 - 12

Upfront Franchising
UNLEASHING
GROWTH
Working in lockstep with
London's population
boom, the franchising
industry is seeing the
city as fertile ground for
expansion
WHETHER WE REALIZED it or
not, Canadians live in Franchise
Nation. We are 38th in the world by
population, but, at more than $120
billion in value, boast the second largest
franchise industry in the world
after our neighbours to the south.
One in every five loonies spent on
goods or services in Canada is spent
at a franchise business. They are the
oft-overlooked workhorses of the
small business economy - and it's not
just fast food anymore.
" If you look at the breadth of franchising
business models and the
sectors that franchising is in, we've
got something in just about everything, "
says Lee Smithson, president
of FranNet Southwestern Ontario,
a network of franchise brokers that
match potential franchisees with
brands.
As London's population has
grown, so has its franchise sector,
says Smithson. " It's pretty busy, " he
observes. FranNet tends to diverge
from the wider franchise market,
in that its inventory of franchises
looking for operators has a smaller
percentage of QSR (quick service
restaurants) businesses - around five
per cent - which make up the bulk of
franchises in Canada.
" Fast food - they are popping up
all the time across the city, " he says.
" But there are also the home services
franchises that are opening, and retail
franchises. "
Outside of QSRs, two areas where
Lee Smithson
" FRANCHISORS ARE LOOKING FOR
AVAILABLE SPACE, BUT ALSO WHERE
|THE DEMOGRAPHICS ARE TELLING
THEM THEIR CLIENTS ARE " -Lee Smithson
Smithson and FranNet are seeing a
lot of growth these days are within
beauty and fitness franchises - a
development he puts down to a
restored sense of stability post-Covid.
" There's more people looking at
fitness, more at beauty than there
were in, say, 2022, " Smithson says.
" Today, people are more confident
with moving ahead and looking at the
business models, seeing the existing
income statements, being able to learn
12|londonincmagazine.ca|EARLY SUMMER 2024
and project their models. There's great
opportunity in that sector. "
The who of the franchise sector is
another area where there's been some
shifts in recent years, Smithson says.
Rather than the traditional demographic
of franchise buyer - someone
in their 40s - Smithson is seeing is an
explosion of interest among millennials
in their late 20s and early 30s.
" The younger generation is coming
in and their parents are helping them
London Inc. Early Summer 2024

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