Distinguishing a franchise from a non-franchise in Russia is not easy. The fact is that there is no single way to formalize it, and at the moment, relations are formalized in different ways - either through supply contracts, or through individual agreements. A commercial concession agreement similar to Western ones is still a rare animal in our country.
But RBC experts know all the reefs and currents in this legal sea. And, focusing on the statistics on brands from Rospatent, they compiled a rating of the ten most popular franchises in Russia in 2020.
10. Remit
As they say, “Remit” began with the fact that two people did not find anything on the market of meat products that corresponded to their fastidious tastes. And since the perfect sausage does not exist, then you need to create it! So at the beginning of this millennium, a new meat production was opened in the Moscow region.
The name itself hints at the high quality of the plant's products - they say that it is derived from the English words real meat ("real meat"). The issue of "authenticity" of products is taken seriously at the plant; it was one of the first in Russia to pass an audit for compliance with international quality standards. Moreover, they also test meat for DNA!
In addition to caring for the taste of customers, Remit also pays attention to the entertainment side. In the chain of stores "Real Meat", the meat shop is separated from the audience by a glass wall. If you wish, you can watch how the meat turns into a ready-to-eat product.
9. Sun School
The most dynamic and fastest growing franchise in 2019, judging by RBC's data, is not a chain of minimarkets or even laboratory research. This is ... a kindergarten. Compared to the previous ranking, Sun School jumped from 35th to 9th place, and over the past year signed 52 new contracts.
The gardens, opened under the Sun School franchise, work according to the ABC concept, aimed at the harmonious development of the child: intelligence, health, communication skills. And all this in a playful way within the framework of a bilingual approach: the first half of the day in Russian, the second in English with native speakers.
8. Invitro
Laboratory analyzes in Russia are profitable. About half of Invitro's revenue comes from franchising. It is interesting, by the way, that opening a test collection point is not as difficult as it might seem at first. "Invitro" will take care of everything, from equipment, arrangement of transportation and even hint to familiar doctors that it would be nice to send tests to them.
At the moment, the "Invitro" network has more than 800 points throughout the post-Soviet space, they are serviced in the company's own laboratories. True, over the past year the company has lost 5 franchisee partners - the worst result among all ten top franchises.
7. AMAKids
If Sun School is a kindergarten without any special undertakings, then AMAKids position themselves as centers for the development of children's intelligence. Representatives of the company claim that at the moment all over the world (and not only in the countries of the former USSR) under a thousand centers are open. There, the child will broaden his horizons, increase the speed of reaction and help to establish imaginative thinking. Whatever that means.
6. FIT Service
This network of car services has 12 of its own nodes and more than 200 points are at the mercy of franchisees.According to company representatives, another 220 are expected to open in the near future (however, it is not known how the quarantine and economic downturn will affect this pleasant outlook). This is the largest network in its segment.
The company is proud that its relationship with the franchisee is completely transparent, understandable and beneficial to both parties. The franchisee is offered to earn money by repairing cars and selling parts. For its part, the company will help to get things going - it trains, certifies, helps to choose a place and equipment and conduct an advertising campaign. If it doesn’t work, he returns the entry fee.
5. Helix
Like Invitro, Helix operates in the rich field of laboratory research in Russia. The network began its work in 1998, and, according to representatives of the company, during all this time, one and a half million studies have been carried out. The number of Helix points on the territory of the Russian Federation reaches 300, the company still has three own laboratories.
Advantageously, Helix differs from its peers by the fact that they prefer to sign with their franchisees the very real commercial concession agreement, which is completely analogous to Western ones. Unfortunately, no more than 5% of all franchisors in Russia adhere to this principle.
4. Beer & Co.
Beer & Co stores sell not only beer. Rather, the network provides its franchisees with three options:
- minimum (only beer and cigarettes);
- minimarket (an assortment of snacks is added);
- supermarket (plus essentials from baked goods to pet food).
The network does not leave the newly-minted representatives of the franchise alone to fight the outside world. And, in addition to the business model, it also offers long-term support, a bonus program and the opportunity to consult with experienced professionals, from traditional marketers to programmers.
It is not surprising that by the beginning of this 2020, the Beer & Co chain has already opened more than 400 points in more than 130 cities in Russia and neighboring Kazakhstan.
3. Pedant.ru
At least 60% of Russians in our country go online from their own smartphone. And how many of those who have not yet activated this service and traditionally use a mobile phone only for its intended purpose?
And, as practice shows, any device breaks down, even if it is a super-featured flagship-level smartphone. Not surprisingly, mobile friend repair service centers are in high demand.
And the leader among them is Pedant.ru network, which, according to experts, occupies 38% of the Russian market. In total, the network has more than three hundred service centers, covering more than 120 cities throughout the Russian Federation - from Kaliningrad to Vladivostok. In addition to repairs, in service centers you can also “dress up” your smartphone or even change it to a new version.
For franchisees, the network makes a very tempting offer attractive - to return all the money if suddenly the business goes wrong. In addition to a reserve parachute in case of unforeseen conditions, the company also offers offline training, provides all the necessary tools and access to a support service that will answer all questions of novice franchisees.
2. Hemotest
In second place among the most popular franchises in Russia in 2020 is the program from Gemotest. She works in the same field as the ninth place in the rating, "Invitro". "Gemotest" came to the field of analyzes five years later than "Invitro", but was able to quickly take its market share, and is flourishing.
And although Gemotest is still behind Invitro in terms of the total number of outlets (slightly more than 300 versus 800), the franchisee network is growing rapidly.
Why did the Gemotest franchise become so popular?
- The reason lies in the reduced threshold for entering the franchise - a point from "Gemotest" will cost a novice collector of analyzes about half as much as from "Invitro".
- In "Invitro" the fees are fixed, and in "Gemotest" they represent a percentage of the turnover.
- Moreover, "Gemotest" also conducts free training for point employees.
But do not think that if the franchisee has launched an outlet, then he can forget about it and only cut coupons once a month. Both companies are very sensitive to their reputations and are vigilant about the behavior of their contractors. Everything is used - from video surveillance, mystery shopping systems to monitoring customer reviews, not to mention possible visits from sanitary and epidemiological stations. True, even here Gemotest approaches its franchisees more gently than Invitro. The company considers each case individually, and fines in general less often.
1.1C
The first place in the selection of the most dynamically developing franchises in Russia went to the famous 1C software network. She pays attention to accounting, and logistics, and schooling, and even games. The company has its stakes in many IT companies both throughout the Russian Federation and abroad; according to Boris Nurgaliev, the permanent director of 1C, the organization has more than two hundred of its own subsidiaries and at least 6.7 thousand franchise partners.
An impressive number of contracts signed (729 last year) "1C" owe to an extensive partner network, which includes a whole army of dealers - more than 10 thousand people. The network of franchise enterprises covers over 600 Russian cities.
Those who come to the franchise remain in it for a long time - according to Boris Nuraliev, the overwhelming majority (more than 80%) who once entered into an agreement with 1C continue to work with them.
In total, the company focuses on three areas in its franchising activities:
- support and service of enterprises;
- accounting;
- and forging new IT staff for the franchise in training centers from 1C.