Increases interest in franchises; migration, unemployment and the desire to be self-employed, the main causes

Wanting to start your own business has become one of the highest priorities for Mexicans, especially if it is a franchise, because as they are proven business models and do not require as much process as starting from scratch, it becomes attractive to invest. although since 2020, there are other reasons that lead to acquiring one: migration, unemployment and desire to be self-employedmainly.

In a conversation with El Economista, José Luis Ubeteragoyena, co-founder and general director of Grupo Franquicia Master, explained that in these two years an interesting phenomenon has been seen because those interested in acquiring a franchise They don’t have the same profile. now their motivations are different.

“It was a year that many joined because they were liquidated or sought a way to self-employ and that leads us to have the responsibility to have the sensitivity to guide them in the process, because many are not used to it. It is difficult to go from entrepreneur to entrepreneur”, he said.

Vladimir Ramírez, co-founder and director of Development and Global Expansion of Grupo Franquicia Master, added that another phenomenon is the migration, an effect that has increased exponentially since the pandemic. By moving to other locations, people are starting businesses from scratch in their new city and now, they are also looking for many franchises.

“There was a phenomenon related to migration, people are leaving the big cities to states like Queretaro, Merida, Morelia, and much of the investment we have is from people who have just moved to another location and who want to start a business. In the United States there are also many like that, who are successful and leave to start a new life with a new business.

He stressed that the areas where this effect has been seen the most is in The Bajío, the Peninsula and some parts of the north such as Chihuahua and Baja California.

sales year

Despite the fact that 2020 was a critical year, also one of great sales for franchises, as Ramírez indicated that interest increased and in 2021 the acquired branches began to open.

“Any investor who invested in 2020, during the pandemic, today has at least a 50% surplus value in their brand share. In 2021 it looked more normal, more branches began to open, four per month, and this year we already have eight each month.”

Between 2021 and 2022, Franquicias Master opened 200 business units, mainly because its strategy was to reduce costs, for less than 500,000 pesoswhich made investment more accessible and generated greater confidence by having lower risks.

Digitization, the future

The food and beverage sectors are the most demanded when starting a business, but the trend, in the opinion of specialists, is towards having digital businesses.

“Whoever goes digital and does it correctly will be one of those who will have great growth or who will generate new companies by changing from the physical to the digital,” Ubeteragoyena stressed.

He added that in his industry, food and beverages, digitalization is about having all the information that the business throws in the palm of your hand, having control of everything that is physically seen, for example, the number of coffees sold, customers, existing inputs, etc. It is about digitizing all the processes of the companies in real time, which will allow them to make better decisions and be more profitable.

“That is the challenge, we cannot convert everything we see into digital, but progress is being made. Being able to see the growth and measurement of the business in real time is a great advantage. In our industry, digitization is more on the side of big data”, he indicated.

brands abroad

Given the interest of the franchises, the group announced the acquisition of the franchise rights of the Taco Inn, Sixties Burger, Arrachera House and Imamotto brands, with which they add 20 more branches in operation.

“The success of our business model is the focus on the investor and the value chain to the end customer. our program ‘Customer Centric‘ is the basis of our institutional culture, which consists of generating value through processes and systems focused on quality and service. The corporate training strategy is the key to our development”, stated Uberetagoyena.

The total investment amounts to open a branch of the group range from 500,000 pesos up to 900,000 pesos Mexicans per unit. In Latin America it goes from 25,000 to 45,000 dollars. Among the low-budget brands, Froses Donuts, Caneroll, Vualá and Bahama.