Mobiltel, the leading mobile operator in Bulgaria, which operates under the M-Tel brand, will kick on September 23 a franchise and representatives campaign across the country, the company said.

The campaign labeled M-Tel Partners is aimed at promoting entrepreneurship, the company said. The new shops will be designed by British company Checkland Kindleysides, which has created interior solutions for Rolls-Royce, Vodafone and Levis, among others.

The two projects are a continuation of the partnerships with Handy, Technopolis and M-World chains that the carrier has had over the past three years.

Mobiltel’s closest rival, Greek OTE’s local wireless unit Globul, also expands its network on franchise contracts. In April, the operator started looking for partners for smaller areas of the country. The candidates were required to have their own retail space and a capital of 30 000 leva.

Real estate company Foros said it has signed up two franchisees, in Plovdiv and in Stara Zagora. The company is also in talks to set up Foros franchises in another 25 local town, including Blagoevgrad, Silistra, Vidin, Gabrovo, Haskovo, Kavarna, Sandanski, Elena and Sliven. The first of the signed contracts are for a period of five years.

The Foros franchise project was officially announced in April this year, but has been in the works since December 2007, programme director Milena Mihailova said. The programme targets urban areas where Foros has a market presence.

Currently, Foros does business in Sofia, Varna, Rousse, Plovdiv, Veliko Turnovo, Bourgas, Dobrich, Balchik, and the resorts of Slunchev Bryag (Sunny Beach) and Bansko. If the franchise program does well, Foros intends to take it international, seizing opportunities in neighboring Macedonia, Romania and Serbia.

Foros is the fifth company with a franchise program in Bulgaria. Address is the other Bulgarian real estate company with a similar program while the others are foreign outfits - Re/Max, ERA Real Estate and Century 21.

Bulgarian company Doverie Brico, which holds the rights of the French Do It Yourself (DIY) retailer Mr. Bricolage for Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia, is in negotiations to expand its franchise across the region – to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Kosovo, Andrei Evtimov, Mr. Bricolage’s managing director for Bulgaria, said, quoted by Dnevnik daily. “We expect to wrap up the negotiations with the French company soon,” he added. 

“In Bulgaria we invested in good locations at a time when the market was only starting to take shape and now these investments are paying off,” said Evtimov.

Established in 1999 expressly to introduce the French brand to Bulgaria, Doverie Brico currently operates 10 outlets in the country and is working on projects in Serbia and Macedonia. It would also like to promote the Mr. Bricolage products in other of the region’s markets. There is large potential in Albania, Kosovo and some of the ex-Yugoslav countries, since their market is still underdeveloped, Evtimov pointed out.

“In Bulgaria we invested in good locations at a time when the market was only starting to take shape and now these investments are paying off,” said Evtimov.

The company plans to open at least one, possibly two, stores in Serbia and at least one outlet in Macedonia by the end of 2009.

Mr.Bricolage’s main competition on the Bulgarian market is its German counterpart Praktiker.

The Austrian home improvement retailer BauMax is poised to join the DIY market this year.