Why Are There No European Franchises?

[dps]

I have never had a bad meal at A&W in Canada.

I think the health department shut down all their locations in West Virginia, but I've seen a couple still open here in North Carolina.

[DisturbedPervert]

Del Taco >>>>>>>>> Taco Bell

Baja Fresh/Rubios >>>>>>>>>> Del Taco > Taco Bell

[Valmy]

Del Taco >>>>>>>>> Taco Bell

Taco Bell is horrible Tex Mex no doubt.

It is sort of a genre of food all its own.

[garbon]

Baja Fresh/Rubios >>>>>>>>>> Del Taco > Taco Bell

If you are going there, then one might as well pull out a taqueria and be done with it.

[katmai]

Baja Fresh/Rubios >>>>>>>>>> Del Taco > Taco Bell

If you are going there, then one might as well pull out a taqueria and be done with it.

El Cotixan in Claremont Mesa neighborhood of San Diego

[garbon]

El Cotixan in Claremont Mesa neighborhood of San Diego

Seriously, when someone pulls out something like Baja Fresh, I really just want to give them a slap.  And DP should know better.

[DisturbedPervert]

If you are going there, then one might as well pull out a taqueria and be done with it.

Depends on the taquerias in the neighborhood, and what you're in the mood for. 

[Admiral Yi]

How could that be an explanation ?

Because that's the prototypical franchise owner.  Local guy, has some cash to invest, wants to run his own business, needs some bank capital to amortize the start up costs.

[Archy]

Something what struck me as odd.
Is that the only American franchise companies in Belgium are McDonalds and Pizza Hut.
Other chains than Subway, KFC, Starbucks and Burger King are represented in almost all neighbouring companies, but not in Belgium. I wonder how it comes, is it the competition of the independent Friteries?
We've got one cmpany based on franchises which started also over here Quick, a burger tent with franchises in France, Catalonia and Algeria.

[Josquius]

I think their success is that they are cheap, and in the price range they offer, you would be likely to find some really low-quality, low-hygenic food outside of a franchise.

That doesn't explain why other franchises haven't been successful.  Taco Bell, for example has tried UK expansion (a baby step to Europe) 2 or 3 times and each time they've failed.

Europeans don't do tacos the way Americans do?
I could count on my hands the amount of times I've ever had tacos. Its just not a big food anywhere over here.

[garbon]

One small franchise I can think is maoz.  They have one or two stores in several countries now.

[alfred russel]

Something what struck me as odd.
Is that the only American franchise companies in Belgium are McDonalds and Pizza Hut.
Other chains than Subway, KFC, Starbucks and Burger King are represented in almost all neighbouring companies, but not in Belgium. I wonder how it comes, is it the competition of the independent Friteries?
We've got one cmpany based on franchises which started also over here Quick, a burger tent with franchises in France, Catalonia and Algeria.

Not to harp on this, but Coca-Cola and Pepsi also use a franchise model. I think that is worth keeping in mind because:
1) if they aren't the two largest global companies based on a franchise model, they are both close to being one and two
2) the beverage industry is probably the first to go international with franchises on a significant scale
3) they both have a history of buying foreign competition, which has choked off any other country from going global with beverage franchises in the way they have
4) Pepsi owned and took global some of the most successful restaurants discussed in this thread: KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell (taco bell to a lesser extent than the other two). Management already had a model and the foreign connections and experience to take those food service companies international. At the same time, McDonald's was and is partnered with Coca Cola when it went international.

[Sheilbh]

I could count on my hands the amount of times I've ever had tacos. Its just not a big food anywhere over here.

Neither were kebabs or fried chicken.  40 years ago people thought spaghetti grew on trees.

[The Brain]

  Spaghetti doesn't grow on trees.

[Pedrito]

4) Pepsi owned and took global some of the most successful restaurants discussed in this thread: KFC, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell (taco bell to a lesser extent than the other two). Management already had a model and the foreign connections and experience to take those food service companies international. At the same time, McDonald's was and is partnered with Coca Cola when it went international.

I think this strong link with Pepsi is one of the reasons KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell never franchised any restaurant in Italy: Italy is a Coca Cola country, Pepsi never really took place here.
OTOH, given the very large Coca Cola market share, their partnering with McDonald's made that franchise a rather successful one.
And for Pizza Hut, the main reason it never opened in Italy is quite obvious 

L.