The Czech Franchise Association

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Invitation on FRANCHISING FORUM 2010, October 13^th, 2010, Congress Centre U Hájků, Na Poříčí 42, 110 00 Praha 1

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Invitation - Presentation of franchise systems, 13^th May 2010, Congress Centre U Hájků, Na Poříčí 42, 110 00 Praha 1

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Invitation on FRANCHISING FORUM 2009, 12^th - 13 October 2009 in Prague Congress Center, 5. května 65, Prague 4

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Offer - form of cooperation on FRANCHISING FORUM 2009, 12^th - 13 October 2009 in Prague Congress Center, 5. května 65, Prague 4

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Franchising in the Czech Republic

Mr. Ivo Lamich, Chairman of the Czech Franchise Association, addressing foreign entrepreneurs

The Czech Franchise Association (ČAF) is a non-profit, professional organization associating at the national level franchising providers – franchisors and specialists dealing with franchising issues, lawyers and advisors. The Association was established in 1993 and its mission is to inform non-professional and professional public about the fundamentals and significance of franchising and about successful representatives of this form of business. We cooperate with professional and specialised unions in the Czech Republic and other franchise unions in Europe. The Czech Franchise Association is a member of the European Franchise Federation and the World Franchise Council.

CAF has 32 members at present. Members of the Czech Franchise Association are big, well-known, international systems as for example OBI, Yves Rocher, RE/MAX, McDonald´s, Helen Doron, Dallmayr Kaffee, Telefónica O2, CENTURY 21 and home franchise systems as for example Ambiente, Švejk Restaurant, Potrefená Husa, Paneria, local Real Estate Agencies Tana or international partnership of layers, tax advisors and auditors Nörr Stiefenhofer Lutz and CMC Cameron McKenna.

As in many other European countries the Czech Republic does not have any special provisions on franchising either. This fact as such does not constitute a problem, because at the same time we do not find any provision of the Czech law prohibiting franchising as such or some of its elements or limiting it in a principal way. The Commercial Law is the basic law for franchising in the Czech Republic and governs both the franchising agreement and other legal relations between franchisor and franchisee.

Today the boom can be certainly expected, many businessmen are reaching the phase: how to expand and multiply the model of business.

The database kept by the Czech Franchise Association contains about 140 franchise systems or networks. The ratio between home and foreign systems is about 50:50. Foreign franchise systems prevailed in the past, at present the number of Czech franchising concepts is in contrary growing. At the present time we can see franchising similarly as in other countries in the area of retail and services, especially strong are in real estates and gastronomy.

Year after year the offer of franchise systems is increasing mainly from EU countries.

There is an increased demand for this kind of business mainly on the part of medium-sized and starting entrepreneurs. Franchising becomes the alternative for their further development or the only way to survive in challenging environment of the open EU market where also the Czech Republic belongs. The Czech market was very dynamic, GDP grow in average + 5% each year. The conditions and the possibilities of financing for master franchisees and franchisees are standard one as in EU. It could be said, that the awareness of entrepreneurs about this advanced, dynamically developing and worldwide expanding form of business is increasing in the last 2 to 3 years. Above all the activities of ČAF, its members, the media informing more and more about franchising focusing on one goal – to increase the knowledge about franchising.

The Czech Franchise Association (CAF)

• Association Manager Hana Juraskova
• Tel: +420 242 444 509, Fax: +420 242 444 935
• e-mail: caf@czech-franchise.cz
• WWW: www.czech-franchise.cz

The Czech Franchise Association (CAF) shall be a non-profit professional organization established for the purpose of enforcing, supporting and developing franchising forms of enterprise. CAF was founded in the year 1993.

The Czech Franchise Association will welcome among its members:

• all companies in Czech Republic which are operating on a franchising basis or are intending to do so in future
• all human beings who are interested in franchising, either personally or in an advisory function

Objectives and role of the Czech Franchise Association

The CZECH FRANCHISE ASSOCIATION is a not-for-profit, professional organization associating at the national level franchising providers and specialists dealing with franchising issues, for example in the area of law and consultancy. The Czech Franchise Association was established in 1993; its membership consists of large, well-known international systems as well as small domestic franchise systems.

The activities of the Czech Franchise Association are focused on supporting the development of current franchise systems and creating better conditions for the growth of this type of business.

The main objectives of the Czech Franchise Association are as follows:

• To represent the franchise form of business and to be its expert guarantor; to inform both the lay and professional public of the essence and meaning of franchising and to promote it;
• To associate business entities that actively, successfully and continuously operate in the area of franchising;
• To provide information support and service to its members and to those interested in franchising; to assist them in acquiring important information, specialized knowledge, contacts and references regarding franchising;
• To strive for comprehensible application of legal regulations (legislation) of franchising business including competition, taxes and financing;
• To support and enforce the knowledge of and the consistent adherence to ethical standards outlined in the European Code of Franchising Ethics;
• To support macro-economic benefits of franchising in the area of the development of small- and medium-sized enterprises, quality of services and job opportunities; to assist Czech business entities in "exporting" domestic franchise systems and support the "import" of well-proven foreign systems and investments to the Czech Republic on the basis of franchising;
• To maintain contacts and cooperate with institutions, professional and specialized associations in the CR and other franchise associations particularly from the countries of the European Union with the objective of creating synergic effects and informing the members of such institutions of the activities of the Czech Franchise Association.

Subject to its By-Laws, a natural or legal entity can become the member of the Czech Franchise Association if its Board of Directors makes a decision to accept the member by approving a written application, and providing this entity complies with the conditions set forth in the Czech Franchise Association By-Laws and undertakes the following:

• To observe the By-Laws;
• To meet the conditions set forth in the Ethical Code of Franchising;
• To comply with the conditions of the Czech Franchise Association Admission Order;
• To participate in the activities organized by the Czech Franchise Association;
• To comply with the resolutions and decisions of the Czech Franchise Association bodies;
• To pay the membership fee.

Regardless of the legal form, any local business entity can become a regular member of the Czech Franchise Association providing it has applied franchising as the sales system for at least one year (including a pilot project) and has at least two holders of the franchise license, or is the holder of the master-franchise license of a renowned franchising company for the territory of the Czech Republic and intends to run the franchise system, or has been demonstrably active in the area of franchising for at least one year (for example in consultancy, educational, or publication activities), and complies with the conditions set forth by the Admission Order. The applicants who temporarily have not met any of the criteria for being granted regular membership can become extraordinary or associated members.

The following entities can be admitted as an extraordinary member of the Czech Franchise Association: a Czech legal or natural entity that intends to introduce franchising as a sales system in its business; a foreign business entity that intends to transact business in the Czech Republic and when doing so, to apply franchising as the sales system. The entities that have not met all preconditions for being accepted as a regular member can also become the extraordinary member of the Czech Franchise Association.

Natural or legal entities and institutions, both local and foreign, that intend to actively support the Czech Franchise Association activities can become the associated members of the Czech Franchise Association.

Archive

EUROPEAN FRANCHISE DAYS 2008, 7 - 8 October 2008, Brno, Czech Republic

The accompanying programme of FMP will climax in the international meeting called European Franchise Days 2008, which shall be held in the Congress Hall at the Brno Exhibition Centre.

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FRANCHISE Meeting Point 2008, 6 – 9 October 2008, Brno, Czech Republic

Please accept our invitation to take part in FRANCHISE Meeting Point 2008, a trade fair of franchising opportunities, number one meeting of experts, businessmen and franchising candidates in Czech and Slovak Republic.

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