Due To Pandemic Lockdown - 70,000 Franchise Outlets Forced To Shut Down

An estimated 70,000 franchise outlets or 35 percent out of the 200,000 franchised firms at the start of 2020 have already shut down or closing shops by the end of the year due to the pandemic, but this sector is expected to recover as early as the second quarter of 2021, according to the Philippine Franchising Association (PFA).

- Bernie Cahiles-Magkilat

PFA Chairman Emeritus Samie Lim said during a virtual press conference that the industry started the year with a bustling 200,000 outlets (company-owned and franchised), but because of the pandemic and the long lockdowns, the industry would be left with only 130,000 franchise outlets by the end of this year. Pre-COVID, the PFA estimated around 2,000 franchise brands in the country, foreign and local.