Prepare to meet thy doom? [Video]

Does online shopping mean the end for retail? Simon Lord explains why today franchises face particular challenges.Traditionally, one of the great strengths of franchising has been its ability to combine the branding and buying power of a larger organisation with the commitment and financial investment of local owners. This combination enables franchised outlets to provide better service to their customers while maintaining competitive prices. It’s been a hugely successful business model for more than 60 years – but, in retail at least, is it now broken? Unless retail franchises find ways to harness the power of online shopping, the answer could well be ‘yes.’According to last year’s Franchising New Zealand survey by Massey University, while non-retail franchises grew from a median of 16 units in 2009 to 24 units in 2012, retail franchises were down from 25 to 18. Some of the decline could be due to sampling differences, but …