Interest in sectyor grows, but banks are getting stricter
May 28, 2009
By Lucky Biyase
Retrenchments triggered by the deepening economic meltdown have driven more people to look at investment opportunities in the franchise industry, according to industry specialists.
“Based on the interaction with our clients in general, there is an increase in the number of enquiries from prospective franchisees,” said Bendeta Gordon, the director of Franchise Direction, which conducts research on small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs).
But although interest was growing, newcomers were battling to find funding to buy franchises. “Banks are applying more stringent criteria to approving franchise applications,” she said.
“For the period 2006 to 2008 we saw more than 115 new franchised systems being introduced. We expect this number will increase during 2009 and 2010 as companies look at risk-averse ways of expanding their networks,” Gordon added.
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Interest in sectyor grows, but banks are getting stricter
May 28, 2009
By Lucky Biyase
Retrenchments triggered by the deepening economic meltdown have driven more people to look at investment opportunities in the franchise industry, according to industry specialists.
(more…)
Edcon, which has been delisted following its acquisition by Bain Capital, had acquired more customers buying on credit after opening 92 new stores, lifting the total number of stores to 1 233, the retail chain said yesterday.
It had raised retail sales by 9.4 percent. Stores existing before the current financial year accounted for 3.2 percent of this rise.
About 52 percent of sales were on credit.
Adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation rose to R3.4 billion.
Fixing retailer costs R400m
May 26, 2009
By Mzwandile Jacks
Ellerine, the furniture retailer acquired by African Bank Investments Limited (Abil) for R8.9 billion in 2007, was in a worse state than the microlender had thought, with write-offs having reached R1.1bn, Leon Kirkinis, the chief executive, said yesterday.
Filed under: Local News
Growth in retail sales slowed to an annual 6.6 percent last month from 7.1 percent in March as job losses undermined consumer spending, the Retailer Liaison Committee said yesterday. Sales of garments rose 7.4 percent, furniture gained 6.9 percent and CDs and DVDs 1.9 percent. The industry group collates data from firms like JD Group, Woolworths and Shoprite. The figures usually do not tally with data from Statistics SA, which surveys more firms and uses different methods. – Bloomberg
Filed under: Local Company News
Furniture retailer Ellerines was in a worse state than African Bank thought, with write-offs having reached R1.1 billion, Leon Kirkinis, the chief executive of the microlender, said yesterday. The price African Bank paid for Ellerines did not reflect the risks, he said, adding that the microlender paid more than it should have. page 3
Filed under: Retail
By Donwald Pressly
Foschini Group intends to expand its operations by 120 stores in the coming year so that it will be well placed when the upward trend in the retail cycle returns.
While Doug Murray, the group chief executive, said it was not immediately obvious when that upturn would take place, the group had been playing “catch-up” to some of its rivals, which had grown their stores significantly during the first part of this decade.
