National Franchise Registry in the making, to monitor franchise business

Under a bill amending Ordinance No. 52/1997 on the legal status of franchising, adopted on Wednesday by the government, Romania will have a National Franchise Registry to monitor franchise businesses and a pilot unit where the franchisor has the possibility to test and fine-tune for one year the business type he plans to sell as a franchise. “The role of the National Franchise Registry is to monitor franchise businesses and provide useful statistical data. This way, successful Romanian entrepreneurs will be encouraged to franchise their businesses, and foreign franchisors to expand their networks in Romania, thus increasing the likelihood that a larger number of Romanian entrepreneurs are attracted to developing franchise business,” the Ministry for Business Milieu, Trade and Entrepreneurship (MMACA) said in a release on Thursday. Within 60 days from the coming into force of the Law amending and complementing the Government’s Ordinance No. 52/1997 on the legal status of franchising with subsequent amendments and additions, the Romanian Franchise Association shall set up the National Franchise Registry. The franchisors operating in Romania can register the information disclosure document with the National Franchise Registry free of charge, the release of the Ministry for the Business Milieu informs. In the pilot unit, the franchisor has one year to test and finalise the type of business he will be selling in a franchise system, so that the franchisee will take over a verified business, making it easier for them to develop a business after a functional model in the absence of a previous entrepreneurial experience, the cited source explains. There is an extremely high potential for prosperous business that can be launched on the market, and a franchise company could be one of the best business development solutions for a start-up, given the low value of investment. These opportunities benefit this year’s applicants under the Start-Up Nation program and we anticipate a much higher competition than last year amongst entrepreneurs who will definitely come up with innovative ideas, reliable and consistent business plans, with successful outlook for years ahead, said Minister for the Business Milieu Stefan Radu Oprea. Other novelties in the regulatory act consist of bringing the terms used in line with the international franchise business lingo, introducing the term “franchisee” for the franchisor’s partner and the use of the term “information disclosure document” by all franchisors to render consistent information procedures for potential franchisees. According to the MMACA, the new draft law will have a positive macroeconomic impact, through the emergence of new business opportunities, job creation, the diversification of the products and services market and increased market competition.