Franchises recession proof?
In the first quarter of 2009, there were 14,319 business bankruptcies in the U.S. — a 64% surge from 2008, and the highest of any quarter in at least the past 15 years, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.
While little data exists on bankruptcies specifically in the franchise field, the International Franchise Association (IFA) and PricewaterhouseCoopers found in a January study that the economic decline is taking its toll. They project that the number of franchise establishments in America will decline by 1.2% in 2009 — a net loss of 10,000 of the nearly 865,000 establishments that existed in 2008. Recession proof..hardly. Support local independent retailers!