Nancy Lanard from Spadea, Lanard, & Lignana, Attorneys at Law, posted the following article on due diligence for franchisees: http://www.spadealaw.com/blog/2012/07/18/due-diligence-prospective-franchisees?goback=.gde_67633_member_135863231. Here is my reply posting:
Nancy, Your comments are absolutely “right on” when it comes to selecting a franchisor. Once a franchisee selects the “right” retail, B2C franchisor, there is a very important next step in due diligence, that is finding the right location for their brick and mortar store. Many franchisors, such as MacDonalds, provide very comprehensive site prospective services. Others, offer nothing. Ultimately, the responsibility falls onto the unsuspecting franchisee to find a successful location.
When we look at the activities associated with site prospecting, there is the on-site evaluation: location aesthetics, access, parking, and physical suitability of the site. Then, there is all the “rest of the story” that a franchisee cannot see from the physical site inspection or driving around the sites trade area. These are things like demographics, expenditure patterns, supply and demand, competition, and the behavior patterns of the trade area’s residents. These are the types of business, site location questions that geospatial information analysis answer. This is the decision support data that is critical to a franchisee looking for a new location.
One of my colleagues from the Boulder, Colorado Chamber of Commerce (Mark Roseneck, owner of the Longmont, Colorado EmbroidMe Franchise) said, after I explained the power of geospatial analysis to him, “Wayne, I wish I had known about GIS services when I was looking for my location.” To quote our realtor compatriots, it is all about, “location, location, location” when it comes to retail.
I believe that the logical, and smart, next step, after a franchisor is selected, is to use geospatial services to find the “right” location, whether these services are provided by the franchisor, or outsourced.
Wayne Kocina
CEO, GeoWize, LLC
303-731-1416
wayne@GeoWize.com
