Q: What prompted you to take up this franchisee model?
We wanted to expand and we had to choose between venture capitalists and angel investors for our funding. Both these channels demanded huge funding and gave very low margins. Moreover, the companies that have adopted this sort of funding haven’t been able to make any impact or profit. We picked our lesson from them. We started looking out for alternative business models for expansion. And we ended up with the ‘franchisee model’—the most successful model across the globe. Here, funds required for expansion are provided by the franchisees and our investment is limited to branding and business development.
Q: Do you have a pan-India plan?
Yes! And our plan is in the operational stage. We are looking forward to opening Hash10 stores across the country and we already have enquiries for rolling out this model. We will be appointing master franchisees for all states and they in turn would appoint franchisees across the state. At this rate, if things move according to our plan, we will have more than 3,000 franchisees in India in the next two years.
Q: How did this mobile journey started?
Initially, we entered this business as state distributors for brands like Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Motorola, Panasonic, Siemens, Bird among others. Later, we realized that retailing for mobile phones aren’t that well organized and customers’ expectations were rarely met. We thought we could handle customers much better than most of the retailers present then.So we jumped in.
Q: How important is branding for you?
Branding is not just about name. We believe that branding is what customers feel about us, and how we fulfill their needs. Successful branding assures top-of-mind recall and high customer loyalty. We are concentrating our activities to achieve the same. To enable us in this endeavor, we have roped in a renowned firm to help us take Hash10 to the top.