It’s been a rollercoaster of a year for everybody, so let’s reflect on some of the biggest stories from the franchise world as we look ahead to a refreshing 2021.
JANUARY
Back at the start of the year, the upcoming pandemic was little more than a quiet rumbling in the international news sphere. In fact, perhaps ironically, 2020 began with a swath of milestone fitness-based headlines which showcased why gyms remained a smart investment. Anytime Fitness planted its flag in Antarctica through a presence on the Magellan Explorer, becoming the first franchise brand to operate on all seven continents. Planet Fitness, meanwhile, opened its 2,000th location in Colorado Springs, and science-driven boutique brand fit20 signed up its first regional developer in the U.S. It wasn’t all good news, unfortunately. As a sign of things to come, an annual PwC survey revealed at the Davos conference showed that 53 per cent of CEOs predicted a decline in the rate of economic growth in 2020; an all-time-high figure.
FEBRUARY
February was a big month for international franchising, with the one-two punch of Catherine Monson’s appointment to IFA chair, and the Global Franchise Awards taking place at the annual IFA conference. Monson, known for her role as CEO of signage franchisor FASTSIGNS, took over David Barr’s position as chair, while also winning the Best Signage & Communications Franchise at our annual awards ceremony. Don’t forget: there’s still time to enter the 2021 Awards, with entries closing January 14, 2021. Further afield, February also saw KFC launch franchise opportunities in the Philippines, while Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, coincidentally a winner at our 2019 Awards, announced its first location in Pakistan.
WORD-OF-THE-YEAR: PIVOT
Whether it was a fitness concept pivoting to digital classes, or a dine-in restaurant pivoting to take-out only, you’d be forgiven for reading the headlines this year and thinking everybody had taken up ballet.
MARCH
With the global rise of the coronavirus came a surge of government support around the globe. In the U.S., this arrived in the form of the CARES Act that the president signed on March 27, and with it, the introduction of paycheck protection loans (PPP loans). Thanks to ongoing involvement from the IFA, these loans were made available to franchisees – not just a singular franchisor – and 96 per cent of franchise owners eventually received vital funding. Across the pond, F&B titans McDonald’s, KFC, and Subway announced the temporary closure of all of their U.K. locations, in a nationwide bid to limit the spread of the global virus. And further east, in Japan, 24/7 workout provider Snap Fitness announced that it would open 300 stores throughout the country. It was a rollercoaster of a month, to say the least.
APRIL
For many businesses, April was the start of a long period of consolidation; ensuring that their current franchise network had all of the support it needed to navigate the tough months ahead. To provide as much guidance as possible, we ramped-up the Global Franchise Podcast and released timely episodes every week of the month. The first of these, with franchise advisor Sean Goldsmith, delivered a masterclass in preparation strategy, with Sean emphasizing the importance of perseverance. Later in the month, Zack Fishman of Fishman PR and Jamie Izaks from All Points Public Relations outlined the key marketing and PR tactics that they were recommending. And with more of a focus on preventative positioning, Sean Murphy of BDO USA detailed the best ways to mitigate risk. Nobody in the industry knew that the first signs of recovery were just around the corner.
WORD-OF-THE-YEAR: CURBSIDE
If a pizza chain left your order out on the curb this time last year, you’d likely call them and complain. But in 2020, any delivery-ready organization that doesn’t offer curbside delivery is an outlier. In order to limit human contact and, subsequently, the spread of the virus, this has been a mainstay of every B2C offering.
MAY
If the previous month was about consolidation, then May was certainly the time to reap the benefits of holding firm. While the franchise industry was a long way from normal, the release of the IFA’s reopening blueprint, which outlined the countless ways that concepts from every industry could begin reopening their doors and serving customers, gave hope to countless franchises. Visions of a brighter future were shared by many worldwide, and despite closing just two months prior, Subway announced that it would be opening 25 per cent of its U.K. stores in May; with the now commonplace social distancing and safety measures in effect. In the trend of stories that soon became thankfully frequent, Taco Bell also committed to hiring many, many new team members in May, with a goal of 30,000 new hires established. This, combined with the introduction of things like curbside delivery industry-wide, spelled a gradual return to the prior successes of F&B.
JUNE
Midway through the year, stories of brands expanding their workforce thankfully continued. Subway, for example, pledged to add a whopping 50,000 new jobs to communities across North America. These positions weren’t just for sandwich artists, either, with management-level vacancies looking to be filled by experienced executives. In what would surely become a sign of the times, health-centric concept Smoothie King announced a partnership with delivery platform DoorDash, so that customers could still engage with the brand from the comfort – and safety – of their own homes. Digital innovation wasn’t just limited to the F&B space, however, as performing arts brand Stagecoach also launched its online platform in June. And to nobody’s surprise, video conferencing software Zoom saw an immense rise in popularity by June; the platform’s stock price rose more than 200 per cent from January, generating a profit of around $28.6m in Q1 2020.
WORD-OF-THE-YEAR: ZOOM
If one piece of tech has been utilized more than any other by businesses in 2020, it’s videoconferencing. Not just businesses, of course; families the world over used tools like Zoom, which originally launched in 2011, to keep in touch during periods of lockdown. At the time of writing, Zoom is worth a whopping $140bn.
JULY
The U.S. fitness industry was experiencing a particularly difficult time navigating openings amid fluctuating COVID cases on a state-by-state basis. As a response to the situation, over 60 of America’s fitness industry leaders and experts called on U.S. governors to allow gyms to remain open safely, arguing that there has been no evidence to link the opening of fitness centers with sudden spikes in COVID-19 cases. In an exclusive Global Franchise Podcast interview with Robert Cresanti, CEO and president of the IFA, he outlined the organization’s efforts to advocate for the best interests of the franchise industry. Elsewhere in expansion news, 7-Eleven, Inc. opened its milestone 71,100th store in Seoul, South Korea, while U.S. restaurant icon Big Boy started its Southeast Asian development project by announcing a partnership with Destination Eats to expand the brand through Thailand.
AUGUST
While the world was slowly trying to recover from the COVID-19 crisis by easing lockdown restrictions in certain countries, development plans for franchise brands were speeding up. In August, GYMGUYZ launched in the U.K. with the appointment of two franchisees, Little Caesars opened its first units in Colombia, and Five Guys announced that its long-awaited Australia expansion would happen in 2021. Elsewhere, the fast-food delivery segment was one sector, in particular, that was thriving amid the pandemic, particularly pizza delivery brands. Domino’s Pizza went on a huge recruitment drive to keep up with demand, hiring 20,000 new team members in the U.S. To recognize the franchise leaders of tomorrow, we released our annual Millennials Powerlist, shining a spotlight on the next generation of decision-makers.
SEPTEMBER
While many consumers across the world were enjoying the slight psychological lift caused by the easing of restrictions, September brought with it some news that made for grim reading. The top of the reading pile for the franchise world was a report published by the IFA which laid bare the effect of the coronavirus crisis on the industry. The report, which was compiled by market research firm FRANdata, stated that more than 1.4 million franchise jobs were lost and more than 32,000 franchise businesses closed in the U.S. since the start of the crisis. Another study, this time released by the National Restaurant Association, announced that approximately one in six restaurants across America had either permanently closed or shut their doors for the long-term.
In more positive news, Global Franchise announced the formation of its international franchise association network, launching with a content partnership agreed with the German Franchise Association and Swedish Franchise Association respectively. With more associations to be named, this project allows Global Franchise to have a direct line to the leading and most respected voices in specific franchising countries, further ensuring our best-in-class franchise reportage is underlined by credibility and quality.
WORD-OF-THE-YEAR: RECESSION- PROOF
The idea of a business being recession-proof is often thrown around, but that claim has been tested more than ever with industries the world over coming under financial strain. For some, like home maintenance concepts, recession-proof may not be far from the truth. For others, this buzzword offered little protection from the very real pressures of a pandemic.
OCTOBER
The rise in demand for pizza delivery pinpointed in August meant that Pizza Hut had to shift to an off-premise approach, shutting 632 of its global restaurants to do so. Another brand that had to go back to the drawing board and reshape its business model was clothing retailer Gap, which stated that it may close hundreds of its European stores in order to bolster its franchise footprint. In the gym world, Snap Fitness announced the reacquisition of the U.K. and Ireland master developer license. The move came as part of parent company Lift Brand’s initiative, which will see Snap Fitness invest internally within the U.K. market, focusing on infrastructure development, club growth and franchisee support.
NOVEMBER
After a week of tense vote-counting following a historic electoral race, on Saturday, November 7, Joe Biden was named president-elect and the 46th president of the United States of America. “IFA congratulates president-elect Biden on his victory, achieved through the democratic process of ensuring all votes are counted,” said Robert Cresanti, president and CEO of the IFA. However, Cresanti will not be working with the Biden administration for long, as he announced his retirement from the IFA, stepping down from his position when his contract expires on March 31, 2021. There will not be an immediate search for a new CEO, but instead, key members of the executive board will lead the association for the foreseeable future.
DECEMBER
For some, the month of December signifies the end of the year and the run-up to Christmas, but for those in the franchise industry, it means that it’s the last month to enter your brand into the Global Franchise Awards 2021! Entries close on January 14, 2021, and among the many reasons to enter is the fact that you can showcase your brand to a truly prestigious panel of industry judges, including the IFA’s Robert Cresanti, the BFA’s Pip Wilkins, and many more. Go to globalfranchisemagazine.com/awards to enter.
Already entered your brand into the Global Franchise Awards and you’re anxious you won’t get your franchising fix over the festive period? Then make sure to subscribe to the Global Franchise Podcast – we have episodes featuring Julie-ann James from Aquababies, Eloi Gómez from Jeff, and Tom Epstein from Franchise Payments Network coming out in December.
