Franchise Industry Showing Improvement Says Index Report

By JORDAN BRANDES The franchise industry showed marked improvement this January as the Franchise Business Index (FBI) increased by 0.7 percent. “The uptick in January is reflective of the pent-up demand for growth felt by many franchisors and franchisees who held back on investments in the second half of 2012 because of the uncertainty surrounding the Fiscal Cliff,” said IFA President and CEO Steve Caldeira. “With permanency in tax rates, albeit higher for some small business owners, and steadily improving credit conditions, combined with low interest rates and less expensive commercial real estate, we expect the franchise industry will add over 10,000 new establishments and 162,000 new jobs this year. Franchising could create even more new businesses and realize additional growth and job creation with pro-growth comprehensive tax reform and spending cuts,” he said. The index showed progression across all components with a 2.1 percent increase compared with January 2012.