Franchising has made me stand tall

Embracing entrepreneurial voyage in 2004 by taking Spykar’s franchise, Sunit Mishra, Director, Abacus India Agencies Pvt Ltd is now operating around 45+ stores across Uttar Pradesh for brands like United Colors of Benetton, Spykar, Calvin Klein & Pepe Jeans London purely via franchising. Read on to know how he has built up his enterprise with the support of franchisors & family.

Which all brands are in your kitty?

We have master franchise rights for a few of the leading retail brands in UP. We operate 14 UCB stores, one CK, one Pepe Jeans store and around eight Spykar stores and there are others too. We are soon to launch CK Underwear soon in Lucknow at the Fun Republic Mall.

How has been your journey as a franchisee?

It has been overwhelming. Started as a wholesaler, we opened our first store via franchising in 2004. Post that, there is no looking back. Being a retailer and operating multiple stores of international brands in UP, I would like to bring the best of the brands here as the state has tremendous potential.

How has been the growth so far?

The growth so far is excellent and there are many other stores in the pipeline. I am proud to announce that we were rewarded as the “Best Fresh Sale through Partners” for Benetton recently. There are many other retailers operating via the franchise route in UP, but, we were lucky enough to have the best international apparel retail franchise brands with us.

Any comments on real estate as a challenge in running franchise stores?

As compared to metros, rentals in tier II and III towns are comparatively low, therefore operating a store in smaller towns is manageable. Also, the buying capacity in these towns is improvising day by day. Due to changing lifestyles and increasing disposable income, consumers in smaller towns are ready to spend any amount to buy premium brands.

How significant is franchising model in today’s world?

Utterly important. For retail industry, franchising is a key model for scalability. No other business model is more lucrative than franchise model. Franchising has made me stand tall in retail industry. There is a lot of hope and scope for investors in this industry. It is challenging, yet very lucrative.