Four days, 400 exhibitors, thousands of visitors, every year many Reunion Islanders, already business leaders or in retraining, are going to this event. I share my feedback with them.
Attend conferences
Especially if you are in the process of creating your first business. The conference program is sent in advance, then the day before each intervention. Select some, attend and take notes. This will help you at the show to ask the right questions and in the process of your reflection.
Open Maps
You know how to locate Reunion Island and for you it’s obvious… but this will rarely be the case for your interlocutors, especially if they have not yet had contact with the DOM. Locate Reunion Island on your app and show them. Why ? Because an image is worth 1,000 words and your contact must be able to ship your goods to Reunion Island in the case of the sale of goods.. For that, he must be aware that this requires different logistics from shipping across mainland France or Europe.
Know the key figures for your market
What is the overall population of Reunion Island? ? What is the city where you want to set up? ? Median salary and CSP ? In which city do you want to set up your first business and why? ? Why am I asking you all these questions? ? Because you must quickly understand whether there is a market or not for the franchise that interests you. Because some franchisors require minimum sizes to set up, that the desire of a franchisor is to expand into a territory and for this he needs to know the possibilities of evolution.
You will receive “no”
There are two main reasons for this. The first and most common at this Franchise show : the franchisor is already advanced in negotiations with an entity to deploy the brand in Reunion ; even, the franchise is already being deployed and you will see the brand in a few weeks in Reunion. Second reason : the franchisor is not ready to deploy in the overseas departments (For example, because its development strategy is currently centered on mainland France, or because in terms of logistics, he doesn't know how to do it yet).
Explore
Large stands catch the eye (and are often already established in Reunion or in the process of being established) and sometimes go hand in hand with a higher entry fee. Like a gold prospector, go find the nugget that will make the difference in a local market where many franchises are present. They may be in the less frequented aisles, on a smaller stand or in the national delegations from Italy, from Brazil or other…
Allow time after the show
If you left with 45 brochures and a strong interest in around ten brands, plan a few days to visit the different brands and physically discover the places, the atmosphere and see for yourself if the concept really pleases you and makes sense to you outside the show hall. Visit several stores of the same brand and not only those recommended by the show's salespeople.
Plan to return
If one or more franchises really catch your attention and you continue the exchanges beyond the show, know that before signing a DIP*, many franchisors will offer you a half-day immersion in a store, which will require returning to mainland France a few weeks later.
Get accompanied
This is the point I emphasize the most, GET ACCOMPANIED. On the accounting levels, legal, marketing. Getting started in franchising, it’s not buying a baguette. The implications are diverse and you must build your own team on which you can rely and not rely solely on that of the franchisor..
* Pre-contractual information document.
