China’s rapid economic development and its emerging middle class allow franchises to operate in China under the following model:
The franchisor
• owns a well-known brand with a global reputation;
• has a strong desire to expand its brand in China;
• currently lacks sufficient capital and the traditional franchising model is no longer suitable to support such expansion.
The franchisee:
• has a well-developed distribution network;
• already owns second-line brands for the same or similar products which have already established certain market share in China;
• has ready capital and other operational resources.
By Cecilia Lou, Partner at King & Wood’s Intellectual Property Group