November 2012
| Business World Magazine | 13
UNDUE BURDENS
A policy issue posing a challenge for the IFA
is the Affordable Care Act, which is not sup-
ported by the organization. Members were
hopeful that the U.S. Su-
preme Court was going to
declare it unconstitution-
al, but the law was passed
and now they are dealing
with the repercussions.
Haller says the bill
has created a regulatory
environment where many
IFA members are trying
to figure out how to com-
ply with the act’s man-
dates while remaining
profitable. “These man-
dates place what we think
are undue burdens on the
franchisees to provide
coverage,” he says.
As a result, 3.2 mil-
lion jobs in the franchise
sector are at risk because
of the act, Haller adds. “Our messages were
heard loud and clear, but the administration
is passing a lot of the costs of this law onto
the backs of franchise business owners.”
EXPANDING INTO
THE FUTURE
As for the future of international franchis-
ing, more than 70 per cent of their members
have operations overseas or plan to operate
overseas in the next five years. International
growth is a primary focus, not only for their
established brands, but also for their emerg-
ing brands nationally.
“
That’s a growing area, particularly in the
developing world,” Haller says. “Asia, Aus-
tralia, New Zealand and South America are
hotbeds for franchising.”
Since franchising is still a relatively new
business model, “the sky’s the limit,” he says,
with respect to the longer-term future of the
IFA. The number of different franchises us-
ing the business model to grow in scale is
only increasing, and the IFA’s view is that
trend can only continue going forward.
“
The franchise model has only been
around for around 50 years. The future looks
bright if the business environment is condu-
cive to our entrepreneurs having the freedom
to grow and sell franchises,” he concludes.
A 2011 ANNUAL REPORT