Focus: Asia Franchise Markets 2016 | Page 3

Overview of the Market. China Market At a Glance Growth is expected to be 7.5% in 2014 and 7.3% in 2015, yet as China ranks 93rd in the world on GDP per capita, there is significant room for consumption growth. The long-term outlook is positive. During the past 30 years, there has been dramatic economic growth in China and while franchising only started in the 1980’s it has also displayed rapid development. By 2012 the number of franchised stores exceeded 400,000 with 5,000 systems averaging 83 stores. The total annual sales of CCFA (China chain store & franchise association) members reached nearly US$300 billion in 2010 and represented about 13% of total retail sales in China. The growing wealth, consumption, density of population and rising 2nd/3rd tier cities makes China a lucrative and, for the foreseeable future, growing market. It is odd when we talk about a slowdown in China yet GDP growth is still above 6.5%-not to be sniffed at. As China becomes more open, their desire for foreign brands and new experiences grows in parallel. There are a range of hot sectors a franchise should be aware of. They value foreign brands higher than domestic brands as they are very much seen to be a status symbol. The resulting demand from these factors should be filled by savvy franchisors looking to expand out of their domestic market.growth (14% increase) 2011-2012, was seen in the internet and TV shopping sectors. Key Franchise Points * Although growth has slowed, total retail sales in 2015 showed a real growth of 10.6 percent after deducting price factors