exchange4media launches bi-monthly magazine, Franchise Plus

The turnover of the domestic franchise industry is roughly Rs 10,000 crore, and is growing at the rate of 25 per cent. A healthy rate of growth by any standard, but the belief at exchange4media is that this growth can be given greater impetus through a better understanding of the Indian franchise industry. Which is why the publishing company has unveiled its second print initiative (the first being advertising, media and marketing monthly, Pitch), titled Franchise Plus. The magazine is being touted as a cash machine for people on the look out for business opportunities in the franchising, retailing, distribution and the real estate franchise. Priced at Rs 30, the bi-monthly is being launched with a print run of 20,000 copies, of which 10,000 copies are being distributed through IBH Publishing. The magazine would be sold on the basis of both subscriptions and newsstands sales.

Speaking about the rationale behind launching the magazine, Anurag Batra, managing director, exchange4media, says, "The franchise industry has been in existence for six years, and it still is in the embryonic state. The reason for this is the lack of authenticated data on the industry, and as a result, the potential of the industry has been tapped but little. Franchise Plus aims to provide an opportunity for entrepreneurs looking at new or additional ventures and initiatives." The group has high expectations from Franchise Plus, and has, in fact, set an ambitious revenue target of Rs 1.25 crore in the first year of operations.

Unlike Pitch, Franchise Plus is being launched with considerable media support. Of the Rs 75-lakh investment earmarked for Franchise Plus over the next six months, Rs 30 lakh has been set aside for media spends. In addition to the electronic media, Franchise Plus would be promoted through road shows to be held in Delhi and Mumbai. And, of course, the group would leverage in-house resources - its media website and the Pitch - to create awareness and trigger purchase.

Besides the launch of Franchise Plus, the group has made a couple of more announcements. Significant among them were plans of launching more titles and expanding operations to markets of South East Asia and the Middle East. The company's desire to launch more titles is driven by need-gaps prevailing in many industries, and the group hopes to plug these gaps with its various titles. Says Amit Agnihotri, editorial director, exchange4media, "These editorial products help our readers in making decision that have an impact on their business growth."

As far as setting up operations in South East Asia and the Far East is concerned, the group intends to open bureaus in key regional centres. Looking beyond Indian shores is need of the hour, top officials at exchage4media feel. "These markets are not very different from that of India. They are speaking with each other. So, at that level, there is already a connect between India and these countries," points out Agnihotri, delving on the reasons behind the expansion. To which Batra adds, "Moreover in these markets there is no website that covers media, advertising and marketing in the manner we do. So, clearly, there is a gap here. And the other thing is, just as the foreign readers are curious to know about the developments in the various sectors of the India market, so are Indians. In that context, the website would serve the interest of the Indian readers too." © 2004 agencyfaqs!