Pharmacy News:

Terry White has announced plans to offer every franchisee the opportunity to buy equity in Terry White Chemists next year, after successfully buying back the brand from Symbion Pharmacy Services.

The multi-million dollar buyout will see Terry White once again head up the chemist chain bearing his name, along with six other pharmacist owners.

Mr White said the deal was a win for individual pharmacists, a win for the customers and a win for Symbion.

“Our goal is to bring the pharmacy brand back from corporate to independent. Pharmacies and the relationships people have with their local pharmacist are an important part of the Australian community, and this is about bringing the personal touch back to the franchise company,” he said.

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Journal Record:

With a new facility and name, Leah Ashlock said she is confident her Pilates studio will stretch to new heights.

After a personal investment of nearly $200,000, Progressive Pilates will reopen on Thursday as Carbon.

“This is what I have been working toward for years,” said Ashlock, owner of Carbon. “It finally has happened.”

A loan from Peoplesbank of Tulsa enabled Ashlock to relocate, renovate and re-brand.

Ashlock has operated the Progressive Pilates studio for several years. The name came from Pilates exercises that Ashlock developed and trademarked.

Progressive Pilates steadily grew, which inspired Ashlock to look into franchising options. She also aspired to have her Pilates exercises professionally filmed and distributed on DVDs nationwide.

When she went to New York to discuss the exercise DVD with a producer, Ashlock decided she needed to take more steps to achieve that goal.

What she needed was a stronger brand, she said.

With dreams of a larger studio that could offer more services, Ashlock decided the time was right to move.

In March, Ashlock began her search for a new studio. It didn’t take long to find her Pilates studio’s new home at 3321 E. 31st St., half a block from its previous location.

Ashlock said she wants her business to grow with the Tulsa economy and to play a part in boosting it. She chose only local businesses to renovate Carbon’s new space, including 12 area contractors and companies.

At 3,202 square feet, Carbon will be the largest Pilates studio in the state.

Now after supporting a new facility, Ashlock said she is on track to franchise.

Photo: Rip Stell.

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The Sikh Times:

Gurvinder Singh returned to his native India to get his start with Gold’s Gym last year, opening two locations, with two more in the works. Now the 23-year-old is returning to the California setting he grew up in and bringing back a little twist on the concept, which has found him success in India.

Established in Venice, Calif. in 1965, Gold’s Gym is a full-service gym chain that has close to 700 locations in 43 states and 30 countries. Gold’s offers the latest in exercise equipment and services, including group exercise, personal training, cardiovascular equipment, group cycling, Pilates and yoga. The concept pledges itself to helping all kinds of people achieve their individual potential through fitness and has approximately 3.5 million members.

“Our global staff of personal trainers and group exercise instructors is the best in the business – period. Whether it is a mom looking to get in shape after having a child, a marathon runner training for his or her next race or a Hollywood star training for their next action movie, we leverage over 40 years of fitness experience to create personalized fitness programs that help our members realize their potential,” the company stated.

Most Gold’s locations are franchised, with just 63 corporate gyms in the United States. The chain has over 160 international locations, with 40 in India.

In the United States, Gold’s is pretty synonymous with serious exercisers, both male and female, and is commonly viewed as a having a younger clientele that is in shape and athletic. According to Singh, Gold’s has tremendous name recognition around the world and when he looked to open up his Indian locations he wanted to cash in on this recognition, but also felt that his best bet for success would be to capture a little bit more of the family and female markets.

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Massage Magazine:

Howell, Mich.-based LaVida Massage, a unique massage center that promotes health and wellness, today announced its newest franchisee, Julie Ann Gabriel of Howell, Mich. John Hoose, founder of LaVida, made the announcement.

Gabriel will operate a new franchise location in the Farmington, Mich. area, with a target opening scheduled for Fall 2009. A customer herself, Gabriel was intrigued by the high caliber of service, ambience and professionalism experienced during her own visits to LaVida. In addition, she was particularly impressed by the ease and functionality of the center’s online booking features, which she describes as essential, yet unmatched in the industry. As a certified massage therapist with a business degree from Baker College, LaVida is an ideal venture for Gabriel.

“I was impressed by the availability of appointments and ease of scheduling, specifically the ability to book online,” said Gabriel. “I did a great deal of research on all similar franchise concepts out there and, in the end, the others did not compare to the LaVida concept. Only LaVida has a streamlined online business model making it easy and convenient for busy customers to book an appointment on their time.”

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Delaware County Daily Times:

A dozen eggs were being advertised on a sharp, 42-inch digital screen recently at the Drexel Hill Swiss Farms, which recently underwent a remodeling that transformed the familiar old structure into a shiny new red barn.

Over the next two to three years, all of the 12 Delaware County Swiss Farms will look the same way in a serious attempt for the Broomall-based company to go head-to-head with supermarkets.

A 13th is being built in Ridley at MacDade Boulevard and Arlington Road and is expected to open in the fall. It will be the first store to serve hot dinners such as rotisserie chicken. “We’re a fill-in provisional store,” said Paul Friel, Swiss Farms CEO, comparing his store to the express lane of a supermarket, with a drive-through option.

Of the upgrade, he added, “This is a really solid position against the grocery store. We are really trying to be competitive with supermarkets.”

Friel said one of the challenges has been, “How do you tell people what’s inside the store because it’s all drive-through?” Read more.

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With 90% of franchises returning a profit last year, it can pay to go it alone – with the support of one of the big travel industry players.

Travel Weekly UK:

Now may not seem like a good time to go it alone. But if you have the experience and ambition to take the reins of your professional destiny, then franchising is looking increasingly attractive in the face of job insecurity and diminishing options for raising capital.

Despite the recession, 90% of franchises returned a profit in 2008, and the number of UK franchises increased 3.6%, according to the 2009 NatWest/BFA Franchise survey published by the British Franchise Association.

The resilience of the model is evident at Global Travel Group, which is enjoying a boom in its franchise operation, with nine new franchisees joining in 18 months.

Pool of resources… read on.

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PR Web:

More people than ever before are reacting to the problems in today’s job market by starting a franchise as an alternative career option. For example, a new franchise opens every 8 minutes in America and franchising now represents 40% of all retail sales. As millions of Americans turn to franchising in today’s rapidly shrinking job market, EZMatch.com is using the same technology as successful online dating services to match people to the franchise opportunity that fits their personality.

Finally, consumers exploring franchising can get an immediate answer to the key question, “What franchise is right for me?”

Since launching in September 2008, EZMatch has helped thousands of people identify the franchise opportunity that best matches their personality, background, interests and goals.

And by July 4, 2009, 1,200 people have been successfully matched to a “short list” of franchise opportunities to choose from.

“If it weren’t for the EZMatch website, I might still be looking,” said Gary Stokes who took the free 10 minute survey this past January. “I wasn’t aware of ActionCOACH before taking the survey.”

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FranchiseUpdate:

In these uncertain economic times, emerging franchise companies are finding it difficult to fund their franchise expansion strategies. Traditionally, franchise companies fund their startup and expansion in one of two ways:

1. Shoestring. Startup and expansion funds come from friends, family, home equity, and credit cards (although many of these traditional funding sources are hard to obtain these days). If all the stars align correctly, this initial capitalization bridges the gap until internally generated cash flow is able to fund future growth.

2. Institutional capital. There are two sources of institutional capital: a) loans, and b) venture or angel funding. Loans generally originate with banks. Loans often require significant collateral and personal guarantees. Institutional investors traditionally do not invest in franchise companies because they do not “get” franchising–although in recent years, this trend is changing as some institutional investors are funding more established franchise companies’ expansion strategies. Angel investors do make investments in franchise companies, but often require a significant amount of control, which some franchise entrepreneurs find objectionable.

A franchise company has two assets of intrinsic value: a) intellectual property, which constitutes the “franchise system”; and b) the geographical franchise territory. Many franchisors do not realize that the opportunity to fund their startup and expansion costs can be obtained without borrowing or selling equity by leveraging these assets. Read full article.

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This is Money:

A franchise can be the start of a business empire. Many franchisors encourage successful franchisees to take on extra outlooks.

‘Domino’s actively encourages its franchisees to develop their business into multiple units,’ says Andy Hirst of Domino’s Pizza.

‘If a franchisee has proven skills operating one store it makes sense that they apply their experience to further units.’

60% of Domino’s franchisees have more than one outlet, 40% own more than three, one owns six stores and another, eight.

Dominos helps them identify sites and secure planning permission. The company is looking for new franchisees, who need around £100,000 of their own money to get started.

If you are considering investing in a franchise, think about the possibility of becoming a multiple franchisee before you start.

Julian Urry, managing director at Cash Generator, the High Street buy, sell and loan stores, says: ‘Multiple franchises are a principal part of the company’s strategic direction, but this is not a route for everyone. Read full article.

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Business Mirror:

Ink refill and toner replacement service provider, Cartridge World sees more room for expansion this year.

The strong optimism of the Australia-based Company is boosted by franchising inquiries from different parts of the country such as Pampanga, Batangas, Iloilo and Davao on top of an ongoing plan to put up more franchised stores, two in Metro Manila and one in Cebu.

“It is really a challenge to educate consumers that there is real product in a tainted mainstream,” started Bruce Newfield, master franchisee of Cartridge World in the Philippines. “Education is important in establishing the clear message that our products are not substandard nor fall into the universal ink category.”

Newfield told the BusinessMirror that Cartridge World inks come from Germany and are formulated to be “like the original.” Cartridges and toners are sourced from Australia, the United States and United Kingdom.

Since the company has own research and development and suppliers services, prices of the alternative products are reduced compared with original printing peripherals.

“We have proven our operations in 52 countries worldwide. Here in the Philippines, although we just started in 2007, clients and businesses are assured ink will equal the performance of an original one. We also offer 100-percent money back guarantee if we void the printer warranty or damaged the printer itself,” said Newfield.

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