Introduction

Although the franchises have developed rapidly in recent years, and this system is already present in many sectors (beverages, cosmetics, education, fast food, real estate, hotel, etc.), the fact that the main and most well-known international franchises are already installed on the Bulgarian market (Dunkin’ Donuts, Hertz, KFC, McDonald’s) and the country has some reference best brands (Happy, Policontact ), we can say that this market still have  a big potential and it has not explored its capabilities.

There are no reliable statistics on the total number of establishments operating under franchise, or the total number of master franchises operating in the country, which is an objective indication of the low maturity of the market and what it is unstructured. And, of course, we are here to solve that.

The Bulgarian Franchise Association was established in 1994 and is a member of the International Franchise Association in Washington, DC.

It is based in Varna (the main coastal city and one of the most important cities of the country) and is responsible for advising the new franchisees or franchisors interested in working in the Bulgarian market (or already operating in it). They offer legal advice, encounters between franchisors, general information and contacts search.

There is currently no law or specific regulation concerning franchises. Usually it is not required any specific registration or legal approval to establish a company under the franchise.

Franchisors must run their companies under the Bulgarian Trade Law.

Sumarizing, some of the main aspects of the franchises in Bulgaria are:

• The first franchises appeared in Bulgaria in the 70s, but was in the mid-90s when the industry began to develop more strongly.
• Today, franchising is becoming the trend in some sectors, such as in the real estate agencies.
• In many sectors are already present major franchises (or chains that do not use franchise) international, which has not avoid the continued existence of some fairly strong local franchises.
• Despite the above, a large portion of the population is still unaware of this system, in part because of the limited information available.
• The franchising information is scarce and is highly fragmented. The data offered by the Bulgarian Association of Franchises (BULFA) are not very up-to-date and there is an Internet portal or a magazine specializing in the style of other countries that combine a reliable register of the master franchise available in the country.
• BULFA is undertaking initiatives in this direction, but there are still significant efforts to  do, therefore, there is a market for niche publications, consulting firms and Internet portals interested in getting a development of the franchise save to a level closest to that of other European countries.
• A large part of the master franchise is in the hands of Greek companies.
• The attraction of Bulgaria has increased a lot with its entry into the European Union, which attracted more investment and franchising. In the next few years will continue installing important channels of the most renowned brands.