A franchise consultant who helps companies protect their golden goose and eggs

A franchise sounds like a smart, time-saving way of starting a business. Franchisees can tap ready-made brands and existing know-how, and get access to proprietary goods or concepts. For franchisors, it can also be a quicker and safer way to expand abroad.

But there are pitfalls.

"If a franchisor and franchisee don't match up perfectly, you could well be killing the golden goose and losing the eggs," says Mr Albert Kong, chief executive and founder of Asiawide Franchise Consultants, a Singapore-based franchise management consulting firm.

In the past 30 years, Asiawide has helped more than 1,300 companies in Asia expand locally and worldwide. Recent deals include helping 4Fingers expand into Thailand, PastaMania in Bangladesh, and South Korea's Mom's Touch enter Singapore. Asiawide works with a network of some 70 partners in over 50 countries.

Asiawide's services are comprehensive: It offers franchise package development (for example, Jumbo Seafood), audits existing franchises (for example, South Korea's Caffe Bene), matches companies with prospective franchisees, markets franchise opportunities, does feasibility studies (for example, Jack's Place) and conducts training and seminars with trade associations, tertiary institutions and chambers of commerce.

Mr Kong stresses that knowledge of destination culture and community (part of the PESTEL analysis) is essential if you want your business to go abroad, so Asiawide Franchise Consultants works with a large network of some 70 strategic partners in more than 50 countries.

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"We've cloned ourselves and made sure we have our own good franchisees around the world," he adds.

Even during the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Kong actively published and spoke about franchise advocacy, education and opportunities at conferences and webinars in China, South Korea, Latin America and other nations. One of his LinkedIn posts on franchising has generated close to 6,000 views.

Asiawide Franchise Consultants is an Honouree in the Brands for Good 2021/2022 awards, under the Leadership for Good category, for its efforts in helping companies expand their businesses outside their home base in Singapore or in other parts of Asia.

In his spare time, Mr Kong also volunteers with Iscos (Industrial and Services Co-Operative Society Limited), a government initiative that supports and helps former offenders and their families lead meaningful and productive lives.

Making a good match

The metaphor that Mr Kong consistently uses is that of an experienced, wise and reliable sherpa, and the marriage broker or matchmaker.

Franchisors and franchisees are sometimes so keen to impress each other, they don't look beyond the superficial.

"The franchisor has the last say and makes the final decision, of course, but it's our job to check just how well the franchisee knows the market to which he wants to bring the franchise.

"Is the market large enough to justify the costs and fees of franchising? Does the franchisee have enough financial and other resources and a detailed business plan to scale up? Sometimes, the franchisor is just so caught up looking at the dowry," Mr Kong says.

This is why he subjects the potential franchisee to a detailed background check. He wants to know everything - not just their experience and financial standing, but even where they have gone to school, their hobbies and reputation in their community.

For every franchise to work, Mr Kong says it needs to have the "four wins": The franchise should be good for the franchisor, good for the franchisee, good for the customers, and good for the society as a whole.

More than a consultant

A 33-year veteran in the industry, Mr Kong has shared his expertise in 46 nations to date, organised more than 30 overseas franchise missions, participated in hundreds of franchise and related exhibitions, and won awards and recognition from many international franchising boards and authorities.

He has also sat on judging panels for franchising and licensing awards. The pandemic has not stopped him from participating in webinars hosted in places such as Latin America, Japan, India, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and Russia.

To help clients promote their franchises more effectively, Asiawide Franchise Consultants also produces the only Chinese-English bilingual magazine called Asia Franchise & Business Opportunities, which was launched 28 years ago.

"Publications is a tough business; it contributes only 5 per cent to our overall business. But we pressed on despite all the challenges because it projects us as the thought leader in the franchising arena, and it is at the same time, our own channel to solidify our market positioning," he says.