Maliks: Franchising the Brand

Maliks, a major stationery retailer and provider of photocopy and printing services, had operated in Beirut, Lebanon, for over 25 years. The company’s founder was considering the most suitable strategy for his goal of 100 branches by 2020. He was assessing the advantages and disadvantages of adopting the franchising business model as an expansion strategy and wondered what operational problems he would encounter. The Maliks management team was also assessing the viability of using the franchise model to expand beyond the greater Beirut area to achieve substantial growth. The company enjoyed strong brand-name recognition, but there were still many questions about the company’s next steps, including whether the franchise business model was the most suitable strategy for Maliks. Did the company have the necessary resources and skilled management team to adequately monitor and support prospective franchisees? How would prospective franchisees be selected? What marketing and operational costs was the company likely to incur as a franchisor? Most importantly, did the Maliks management team have the required skills to effectively manage the franchise model?