THE Philippine Franchise Association, Inc. (PFA) said it expects industry revenue to grow 25% in 2019, driven by growing purchasing power, the spread of jobs outside cities and the continued growth of homegrown brands.
“Locally we are projecting 25% growth year on year [this] year,” Director for PFA’s Ways and Means Committee Richard V. Sanz said in a news conference Thursday in Makati City.
This would translate to around $31 billion in revenue after it booked $25 billion in 2018.
“One of our goals is to come up with 100 brands by 2025 going abroad,” PFA Chairman Alan Escalona said, noting the plan is receiving support from the Department of Trade and Industry.
At present, the PFA has at least 20 brands that have expanded overseas. Some of these are Potato Corner, Bibingkinitan, Periwinkle, Goldilocks, and Fruit Magic.
“In terms of physical location, Asia would very much make sense. But if you look in terms of these brands most of them (are in countries with) large concentrations of Filipinos. So it makes sense that the Middle East, very specifically the UAE, will be on top of the list. You have America, you have Canada,” Mr. Sanz added, citing the results of a PFA survey.
This year, the PFA will undertake road shows to the UAE, Thailand, Indonesia, and the west coast of the United States as well as Vancouver.
The $25 billion the sector generated in 2018 is equivalent to 7% of the country’s gross domestic product that year and a 13.64% increase from 2017’s $22 billion.
Among the trends impacting the industry over the past year include the continued influx of foreign brands, according to Mr. Escalona.
Other trends include the leveraging of nontraditional locations, such as food parks.
Self-service laundries, specialty-service focused salons, the introduction of coffee service within barber shops; and celebrity-owned or endorsed franchise brands have also gained traction over the past year.
The PFA will hold a five-day franchise exhibit at the SMX Convention Center beginning March 27.
The event will feature over 700 franchise brands, 20% of which will be international names. The event will feature pavilions from Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Cambodia, with projected attendance of 36,000. — Janina C. Lim

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