2022 The Year of the Franchise - reflecting on the last year
It’s been a horrendous two years and franchising hasn’t escaped the grips of Covid. We have seen the world change dramatically. It has taken time, but we are seeing light at the end of the tunnel and 2022 is set to be an exciting year for all involved in franchising.
We began to see the recovery at the beginning of 2021, with many businesses overcoming the unprecedented challenges of 2020. There of course was still plenty of uncertainty, and especially for the hospitality and retail sector. This included heavy restrictions, or whole areas under lock down rules. Additionally, businesses had to deal with employee shortages as well as supply chain interruptions.
As 2021 progressed we began to see confidence and more people became comfortable with traveling to spending more money out at restaurants. With many franchises seeing their annual revenue increase in 2021. There is no reason to think this will not continue into 2022.
2022 for franchising
With many franchises reporting higher revenue for themselves and their individual franchisees we have no reason to think this upward trend will not continue into 2022 and beyond.
The IFA, the International Franchise Association, predicted a rise of 26,000 franchised locations in 2021, and nearly 8.3 million workers a growth of 10%.
With many businesses adapting their offering to fit the new normal, we expect the home services sector to continue to raise. More of us spending increased amounts of time at home and the demand for home services has benefited from this.
Even how the industry recruits’ franchisees have changed. At the start of the pandemic people were unsure of video conferencing, but this has become normal. These will all continue to be huge trend in 2022.
It’s been a tough few years for everyone, but franchising has made it to the other side and thrived. The after shocks of the pandemic will resonate for years to come, as more and more decide to become their own boss and have a little more control of their career and lifestyle.