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Following on from a breakdown on the financial benefits of the Canadian market yesterday, we have happened upon more evidence that states that more American franchises are looking to Canada.

“A trend appears to be emerging among U.S.-based franchisors to target the Canadian market first for international expansion. A slow-to-recover U.S. economy, combined with Canada’s relative strength during the recession, seems to be luring franchise operators to Canada,” writes Derek Sankey in the Financial Post.

The article restates many of the same points we have been making for a long time. But there is some interesting analysis from a Canadian franchise lawyer.

“I think the word is getting out that Canada is a good place to do business,” said franchise lawyer Larry Weinberg.

It’s more than an issue of proximity. The Canadian economy emerged relatively unscathed from the recent recession. The story talks to the CEO of Top 100 Global Franchise Puroclean who says, “Canada is absolutely the place we need to focus our growth and efforts,” says Keith Gerson, chief executive of Puroclean, which recently hired a Canadian expert to oversee its expansion plans in the country.

That strategy helped push Puroclean into the Top 100 and it seems like it will be a strategy that many other franchises will use in the near future.

You’ll find the best Canadian franchises with Franchise Direct Canada.

Back in late May, Franchise Direct launched its sixth international franchise portal, Franchise Direct Canada. A few months in and we’re delighted to be playing a role in matching Canadian entrepreneurs with top business opportunities.

There is no questioning the value of the Canadian franchise market. As we found through many interviews with the franchises represented on the Top 100 Global Franchise list, Canada is often the first destination for franchises considering international expansion. The cultural and business similarities make it quite easy to seamlessly transfer a thriving franchise business to the Great White North.

Interestingly, Paul Segreto has provided some really interesting information on the state of the Canadian franchise market via the Canadian Franchise Association on his FranchisEssentials blog. Here’s a breakdown:

• The Franchise industry in Canada represents over $100 billion in sales annually
• Franchised businesses account for 40% of all retail sales
• There are over 78,000 franchises across Canada
  Canadian Franchise Association membership grows at a rate of 10% per year
• Franchising directly employs over 1,000,000 people
• Every year, thousands of Canadians are improving their lives by becoming franchisees
• Franchising accounts for $90 billion per year in sales nationally or 10% of Canada’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
• Franchising has been reported to account for one out of every five consumer dollars spent in Canada in goods and services

We’ve seen the huge push towards international franchising in America in the last six months. As if you needed any more encouragement, these facts make the Canadian market even more mouth-watering. Learn more about the Canadian franchise industry from the CFA and Canadian readers can find the franchise for them with Franchise Direct Canada.

Franchise Direct’s Top 100 Global Franchises has barely been published two weeks and we’re already seeing franchises competing to improve their standing for next year’s rankings.

News comes to us from the Financial Times that Pizza Hut UK are considering serious expansion over the coming months. The UK’s eminent business paper has reported that Pizza Hut UK is considering opening up 30 - 50 new units by the beginning of 2010.

“Delivery has been a very successful part of our business over the past 12 months or so,” said Jens Hofma, head of Pizza Hut UK, told the FT.

“Clearly, the economic situation has caused customers to dine in more often and resort to pizza delivery. So this is definitely a sector which is in strong growth.

This is interesting on a few levels. For one, it backs up all of our statements about the state of the pizza franchise industry, which we published in our inaugural franchise study.

At the same time, it backs up the foundation of our Top 100 Global Franchise study, which claims that the franchises that are expanding internationally are best positioned to thrive in this struggling.

It will be interesting to see where Pizza Hut finish on next year’s list.

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to be analyzing certain components of our Top 100 Global Franchise rankings. There’s enough material in here to keep us blogging until Christmas. I hope you’ve been finding the poll as informative as we have.

Today, we’d like to tale a general look at emergence of international franchising. The Wall-Street Journal recently wrote a long and informative story on how American franchises are exploring international options in order to discover new markets. The timing couldn’t be better, as the next day we published our Top 100 Global Franchises rankings. The story focuses on a few big franchises, like Subway, Curves and McDonald’s. Basically, it states that larger, more established franchises are now looking to foreign markets to expand. Look at McDonald’s. This year they’ve opened 53 units in America. Compare that with 286 units abroad. Subway has opened 202 more franchises abroad than in America since January 2008. These are the top two franchises in our Top 100 Global Franchises and they provide the template for any franchise looking to expand. Franchisors looking at foreign markets must take an already easy-to-replicate franchise concept and streamline it further. “We’ve kept costs and fees low, and our operation very simple,” says Don Fertman, Subway’s director of development told the WSJ. “It’s the type of business that just about anybody can get into.” Now take a look at our rankings. Of the Top 100 Global Franchises, 85 are based in America. Six of the top ten franchises sell food. Let’s say you’re a food franchisor. You’re doing well and you want to grow your business. There’s the highly competitive domestic market, and there’s the wide-open world of international franchising. It’s one that’s fraught with risk, but nothing was ever gained without something being risked. It’s an interesting time for franchising. As countries around the world like France and Germany emerge out of recession, perhaps the best opportunity to grow lie in far-away places. The beauty of franchising is that it not bound to any single language, just a single concept.

In this week’s Franchise Update, we are bringing you news on the IFA’s upcoming MinorityFran seminars, as well as news on the latest addition to Franchise Direct’s online family: Franchise Direct Canada!

Click here to download this week’s Franchise Update, or watch in the player below:

The IFA have announced details of their upcoming franchise seminars aimed at minority groups. MinorityFran will hold an informative seminar in St. Louis on June 17th. Details can be found on the IFA website.

Franchise Direct are excited to announced the launch of their newest franchise opportunities website for franchise opportunities in Canada. Franchise Direct Canada, will provide an online portal for the franchise community in Canada.

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