Business insights. Баутина И.В - 23 стр.

Franchising, franchisor, franchisee, franchise agreement, franchise fee, to pay a
royalty, management service fee, advertising fee, operations manual, master
franchisee.

III Reading
1. Before you read. What is a franchise agreement and what does it include.
2. While reading.
Student A, skim-read text 1 read the text, Student B skim-read Text 2. Find words
and expressions connecting with franchising and business in general. Then do the
exercises for your text.

                                         Text 1
                GreenThumb is a franchise hoping for rapid growth
       Franchising is an ideal way to set up a business without taking a huge leap
into the unknown.
       GreenThumb is a franchise business, which provides a service to improve the
health and look of lawns. It was started by Stephen Waring in 1986, when he was
just 19. He got the idea from a visit to the United States, where one in four homes
has its lawn treated by similar services.
1
       He gradually built up his business until four years ago a customer asked how
he could start something similar, and GreenThumb moved into franchising.
Now his company treats 50,000 lawns across the UK through a network of 48
franchises.
The business has big plans. Stephen hopes to be working on one million lawns and
have some 3,500 employees within five years.
2
       To buy into the GreenThumb franchise you will need Ј30,000. For that you
get training, a liveried van, a computer, lawn care products and national marketing.
"It doesn't cost you a fortune," says Stephen, who is enthusiastic about the potential
for growth.
"This is a business targeting a new market that will grow and grow, and you can run
the business from home," he says.
3.
        Franchising is popular in the UK, with 660 businesses operating through
36,000 franchises. Some well-known names are franchised: McDonalds, Wimpy,
Pizza Hut, Domino's Pizza, Thrifty Car Rental, Body Shop and the British School of
Motoring, to name a few.
4.


                                         23