Franchising as a Route to International Expansion with David Bond and Gordon Drakes #58

Since we started this series of podcasts a couple of years ago, quite a number of people have asked me to cover franchising as an approach to Grow through International Expansion. Becoming a franchisee has certainly proved a popular business opportunity for many who have a reasonable sum of money to invest, want to run a business that they can get started quickly, but who either don’t have a ready business concept of their own or simply want the increased confidence that operating an established model brings.

However, I admit that franchising is not a topic that I’ve had personal experience of. Indeed, until a few days ago my assumption was that it was limited to fast food restaurants, hotels and quick printing and office services shops. But then I read an article by David Bond and Gordon Drakes of Field Fisher. That was about franchising British schools abroad – definitely not something I had ever considered before.  David and Gordon are lawyers, and have both specialised in franchising for many years. Their article opened my eyes to the opportunities not only for franchisees – those who buy and operate the franchise – but for businesses to become franchisors, and to use that as a route to international expansion. I’m delighted that they accepted my invitation to join me for this Grow through International Expansion podcast.

So if you have created a business that could operate in another country, perhaps you could consider franchising. It doesn’t have to be one of the “usual suspects”; you just need a quality product or service, a good brand and an established methodology that others can follow to deliver the same product or service in another country. You also need good legal protection, of course, and you’ll hear about that and, I think, learn a lot about franchising in general from my conversation with David Bond and Gordon Drakes of Field Fisher.

David Bond is a commercial lawyer, with a strong focus on intellectual property, specialising in franchising law and advertising and marketing law. He helps his clients develop their brand through compliant marketing communications and promotional activity, including strategic use of merchandising, sponsorship and brand extension arrangements.

Gordon Drakes’ practice centres on helping businesses to protect their IP and grow their presence in domestic and international markets. Gordon specialises in third-party relationship models such as agency, distribution, selective distribution, franchising, manufacturing and licensing, commercial joint ventures and strategic alliances, and helps clients with their strategic planning to ensure that they avoid common pitfalls, including navigating them through complex international regulatory and local law issues.

More details can be found on the links below.

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CONTACT DETAILS AND LINKS

You can find more information about franchising, Field Fisher, David Bond and Gordon Drakes on the following links:

• https://www.fieldfisher.com/en/services/franchising
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/gordon-drakes-4a617936/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-bond-b262751a/