
According to the data of the National Center of Intellectual Property of the Republic of Be-
larus, about 150 franchising agreements are being registered in Belarus at the moment. The main
part of them is occupied by contracts in the retail trade (69%). The popularity of franchising in the
field of retail trade is that payments for the purchase of a franchise are not issued. Buyers pay royal-
ties only. Franchising contracts in the field of public catering services account for 12% of all con-
tracts, in services - 9% and in services for business - 10%. These indicators are extremely low in
comparison with the number of franchising contracts in the developed countries of the world. For
example, in the US and Europe, sales through franchising networks are estimated at trillions of
dollars and account for about 20% of GDP. However, it is the low saturation of the retail services
market of Belarus with famous brands that causes a low level of competition, which makes the Be-
larusian market attractive for the development of franchising.
Now in Belarus, franchises are represented in various industries: in the public catering
(McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, Baskin Robbins, Dominos Pizza, Sbarro), in retailing (Tosca Blu,
Mango), in services (Fit Curves, Re / Max), in hotel business (Hilton, Marriot) and many others. In
different industries you can find offers of Belarusian franchises: Shagovita, Mark Formel, Red
Food, a network of city cafe Pizza Smile, coffee selling networks for take-away, Coffee and Utro
Coffee, a network of children's development centers Lesenka, a network of travel agencies Oranjet.
One of the first and most successful examples of Belarusian franchising is the Milavitsa network,
which is being developing abroad. The leading and the first company, who concludes a franchising
agreement in Belarus company in the Belarusian market of franchising is definitely the company
"NTS", which represents the network of retail stores "Rodnaya Storona".
At the end of 2011 the Association of Franchisors and Franchisees "Belfranchising" started
its activity in Belarus. The Association conducts a significant number of events and presentations,
teaching master classes. However, the general awareness of Belarusian entrepreneurs and compa-
nies about the opportunities provided by franchising remains extremely low. Most researchers ex-
plain the non-prevalence of franchising in Belarus with legal problems: the only article of the Civil
Code of the Republic of Belarus, dedicated to franchising, establishes a restriction on the conclusion
of franchising agreements. The unpopularity of franchising is also partly due to the burden of in-
vestment that falls on local users (franchisees). International statistics and based on its conclusions
that the entry into the franchise network does not require significant investment, are based, as a rule,
on the experience of countries in Western Europe and the United States. For Belarusian business
entities, on the contrary, 20-30 thousand US dollars, payable only as an initial (lump-sum) contribu-
tion, is a very significant amount.
In general, franchising in Belarus continues to develop, although we are at the beginning of
the way of the establishment of this market. There has been a steady increase in requests for the