The Romanian franchise market has entered an upward trend, with the bet of some giants such as Subway (the fast-food outlet chain) on Romania spurring smaller, niche, businesses, such as pasta or pizza-specialised restaurants, manual car wash businesses or cosmetic and facial rejuvenation salons.
"I believe the market will see a positive development, at least these are the first signs. Moreover, otherwise, foreign franchisers would not be interested in tapping the market. The trends seem to be the normal ones, with entrepreneurs being lured by the food sector, fast-food restaurants, services and then retail," says Constantin Anton, chairman of the Romanian Franchise Association (ARF).
As regards niche fields, "there are less covered sectors, for instance entertainment and the educational field. In other countries, these are much more developed, with entertainment and kids' education having a bigger weight. (...)," Anton says.
The first Subway outlets are set to be opened on the market in the second half of the year. The company bringing the US network in Romania is Subway Romania, which has "franchise-type partnerships with domestic entrepreneurs as a business strategy".
The Romanian franchise market has entered an upward trend, with the bet of some giants such as Subway (the fast-food outlet chain) on Romania spurring smaller, niche, businesses, such as pasta or pizza-specialised restaurants, manual car wash businesses or cosmetic and facial rejuvenation salons.
"I believe the market will see a positive development, at least these are the first signs. Moreover, otherwise, foreign franchisers would not be interested in tapping the market. The trends seem to be the normal ones, with entrepreneurs being lured by the food sector, fast-food restaurants, services and then retail," says Constantin Anton, chairman of the Romanian Franchis
