A FEW FACTS ON FRANCHISING IN PORTUGAL (II)

Following our last post, here are a few more facts to round off the picture on franchising in Portugal:

1) 44% of all franchises are based in Lisbon and 24% in Oporto; Setúbal (5%), Aveiro (4%) and Braga (4%) complete the top 5.

2) The franchise sector as a whole represents 3.1% of Portuguese GDP or € 5,297 million.

3) The total number of establishments has slightly decreased from 12,014 in 2010 to 11,760 in 2011, and the total number of employees has gone down to 70,151 or 4% less. 

All in all, and despite the severe crisis sustained by the country, the franchise sector has performed remarkably well. So when the time comes to make their next move franchisors should think about Portugal and see what it has to offer. 

A FEW FACTS ON FRANCHISING IN PORTUGAL (I)

Franchising has become a very popular feature in Portugal during the past 10-15 years. Not only have the Portuguese taken to well known franchises but have also created many brilliant concepts. We'll take a look at some of the most important data as per the Portuguese Institute of Franchising's latest census. 

1) Portuguese are knowledgeable about the franchise system, due to, in no small part, the ever growing number of franchises. 2011 saw the total number rise to 578 (+ 8 from 2010) which is an impressive figure when considering there were 363 ten years ago.

2) Just 61% of brands are Portuguese. Spain comes in second with 13%, then USA (7%), France (4%), Italy (3%), UK (3%), Brazil (2%), and others (7%).

3) 72 Portuguese brands are present in other countries with 776 establishments (+ 26 from 2010), while for many their foreign income represents 50% of their total revenue. 

NUMBER OF SPANISH COMPANIES ON THE RISE

According to the Spanish National Institute of Statistics, the number of newly incorporated Spanish companies has grown for the fourth consecutive month when compared to last year's figures. July 2012 showed a promising start with a rate of +6.7%; things were slower in August (+3%) and September (+3.7%), but October has reached an encouraging +18.2%.

Madrid (1,653 companies) and Catalonia (1,355) were the regions with the best total numbers, although kudos must also go to the regions with the highest growth rates, Aragón (41.2%) and Galicia (39%).