Carrefour Express, One Hundred Montaditos, La Sureña, The Fitzgerald, Kid's
The reason for this growth is understood in the commercial transformation of streets and avenues, in the tourist boom and in the much-discussed pedestrianization. This is how the manager of the Association of Merchants of the Historic Center of Valencia, Julia Martínez, understands it, who uses the metaphor of "the tray" to explain the why and how of this boom. “We have worked hard to have these dynamic commercial axes, so that the city is commercially competitive, that it is a focus of attraction and that is why franchises are located here. We prepare the tray for them to fill with cakes, but then they do not get involved or collaborate. And that cannot be ”, laments Martínez.
Likewise, the manager defends that "València is the commercial postcard of the Valencian Community that the tourist takes" and in that image they work, but it disfigures franchises that are not associated with local businesses or collaborate in, for example, the payment of Christmas lighting. "We want cakes, shops, all kinds of cakes to be on the tray, but they have to get involved because I spend the morning fighting so that loading and unloading is free for the merchants and we all benefit from that," she denounces.
This 'collaboration' also translates into fees, such as the 320 euros per year paid by the associates. But the criticism is not widespread, there are those who do participate and seek to take root in the local fabric. An example is the store-bazaar on Avenida del Oeste that now occupies the place where Valencians used to go to look for costumes, the mythical Casa Picó.
The Valencian capital is an example of the solid network that franchises weave today in the Valencian Community, the third Spanish community with the most establishments of this type, only behind Madrid and Catalonia.
From the Spanish Association of Franchisors (AEF) they explain that the Valencian Community "has always been a driver of the franchise" and they refer to the International Franchise Show that was traditionally held at Feria Valencia. This solidity is also perceived in the fact that 28 Valencian brands have a presence abroad: "This is because they have a lot of experience and in Valencia there is an important entrepreneurial culture," say AEF sources.
This week the general director of Consum, Juan Luis Durich, explained that the sector is moving "a lot" and how they discard many of the proposals that come to them to open new Charter franchises.
In fact, of its 50 new supermarkets in 2022, 12 are owned and another 38 are Charter franchises and this 2023 it expects to open another 35 new establishments. Food is the type of franchise that billed the most in 2022, with a total of 8,900.7 million euros.
For its part, from Cámara Valencia they value the franchise and differentiate it from the branch of large firms, "because it is not the same. The franchise is a formula that integrates the ability to grow of a consolidated brand with the commitment it makes a local businessman or businesswoman", qualifies Agustín Rovira, director of the Pateco Office of the Valencia Chamber.
Rovira considers that many "defects" that are not its own are attributed to the franchise and assures that in many cities the chains are not involved, but the franchises are. "Of course, they come because they are attracted to the location of attractive commercial hubs where their competitors are, because they play for the brand and for notoriety," explains the expert.
The data from the AEF 2023 report shows that the Valencian territory currently has 176 brands, only one less than the number registered in the 2019 study, when it was last published, which shows the solidity of the model despite the tsunami what the pandemic brought about. These firms are located in a total of 5,971 stores and generate 17,439 jobs.
Of the 1,375 networks that currently make up the franchise system in Spain, the one with the largest number of franchising centers continues to be Madrid, with 401 (34 more than in 2019), followed by Catalonia, with 318 (17 less); Andalusia, with 157 (4 less than in 2019), and the Valencian Community, which is the one that loses the least, with 176, one plant less than in 2019. Among these four communities, together with Galicia, they account for 80% of the total the brands that make up this business model in our country.
A decade ago, in 2013, there were 119 signatures. At that time, the difference with the rest of Spain was very evident, since only together with Andalusia, Catalonia and Madrid did they have more than a hundred establishments. Billing, on the other hand, has decreased: in 2013 in the Valencian Community it was 1,468,662,000 euros; this 2023 is 1,107,766,000 euros.
Alicante has an important role in this title conferred on the Valencian Community as promoter of the franchise sector, with consolidated brands from Alicante such as Ale-Hop or Neumáticos Soledad, as well as Castellón, where numerous franchises have been opening in recent months. especially restoration.
