São Paulo – The food industry franchise sector expects to grow 14.17% in Brazil this year, according to a survey disclosed last Friday (29th) by the Brazilian Franchising Association (ABF) in partnership with EDC, a consultancy firm that specialises in the area.
According to a press release issued by the ABF, the segment that should post the highest growth rate is that of snack bars/cafeterias, at 33.19%, followed by varied food stores, grilled food stores and others, at 18.68%, and Asian food stores, at 15.58%.
The survey was conducted in April and May this year among 41 companies affiliated with the ABF that own a total of 3,527 stores, answering to 67% of the sector market and 64% of sector revenues. According to the organisation, the companies surveyed have combined annual revenues of 6 billion reals (US$ 3.6 billion).
The survey, according to the ABF, shows that the sandwiches segment answers to 59% of that total, followed by various foods, grilled foods and others, at 22%; pizzas and pasta, at 6%, Asian foods, at 5%, and snack bars/cafeterias, at 4%.
The survey also reveals that franchises are migrating from shopping centres to street stores. In 2006, shopping centres housed 56.8% of establishments of the genre and 33.4% were in the streets, whereas last year the ratio changed to 51.8% and 39%, respectively.
According to the release of the ABF, the director at the ECD, Enzo Donna, stated that the ratio should be inverted by 2010, with 39% of stores in shopping centres and 55.6% in the streets. The coordinator for the Fast Food sector group at the ABF, João Baptista da Silva Junior, added, still according to the release, that the trend reflects rental costs at shopping centres. The survey also shows that 4.1% of the points of sales are located in hypermarkets, 0.5% in galleries or commercial centres, and 4.5% in other locations.
The internationalisation of Brazilian franchises also became clear in the survey. The countries with the highest number of Brazilian franchise networks are Mexico (63%), Angola (25%) and Spain (13%). This year, according to the survey, the markets that should receive the highest number of Brazilian franchises are Spain (33%), Mexico (22%), Angola, Costa Rica, United States and Panama, each with 11% of the total number of companies that intend to go international.
In the domestic realm, the survey points out that, out of the total number of stores, 46.7% are located in the state of São Paulo, 17.5% in Rio de Janeiro, 4.5% in the Federal District, 4.4% in Paraná, 4.2% in Minas Gerais, 2.9% in Santa Catarina, 2.3% in Pernambuco and the remainder, in other states. Regarding expectancy for the opening of new stores up to 2010, São Paulo should receive 44.5%, Rio 14.8%, the Federal District 6.1%, Paraná 4.1%, Minas 3.1%, and Santa Catarina and Pernambuco 2.6% each.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
