Franchise Asia April 2017

International Focus
Franchise Outlook
for Australia in 2017
By Peter Buckingham
The franchise sector in Australia is in
a mature state, and has become the
distribution method of choice for some
1,120 systems. According to Professor
Lorelle Frazer and Griffith University in
their Franchising Australia 2016 Report,
this number has dropped slightly from
the 1,160 reported in 2014, but many
systems have grown for a minor positive
change in the size of the industry.
Professor Frazer also reports that
Franchising in Australia:
• Directly employs around 470,000
people.
• Has around 70,700 business format
franchised units and 8,300 companyowned
units, producing a total of
79,000 units operating in business
format franchises.
• Has an additional estimated 6,050 fuel
retail and 4,618 motor vehicle retail
outlets.
• Has a total turnover in the entire
franchising sector estimated to
be$146 billion (compared with $144
billion in 2014).
History
Franchising has been in Australia since
1815, when it was started by Sydney
Hospital being built and was funded by
the private sector, allowing the operators
to charge a fee for service, and being
allowed to import 60,000 gallons of rum
to service the people. The hospital was
also known as Governor Macquarie’s
Rum Hospital.
The food franchises probably started
the rapid growth with McDonald’s, KFC,
Hungry Jacks (aka Burger King) and
some other large QSR’s bringing their
systems from America in the late 1960’s
and early 1970’s.
Personally, I became involved in
franchising when on the 30th September
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