Economic Woes Weigh on Franchising Index
Fears of a recession and economic woes pushed the Rosenberg Center Franchise 50 Index™ down in the fourth quarter of 2007, with the index of the top 50 U.S. public franchisors falling 5.5 percent amid a broad market decline.
“Many of the components of the index are in business sectors (restaurants, lodging, etc.) that are highly correlated with the economy, and the economic woes have negatively impacted them. Forty-three of the 50 component firms experienced a loss of value this quarter,” according to Hachemi Aliouche, senior research fellow with the William Rosenberg Center of International Franchising at the University of New Hampshire Whittemore School of Business and Economics.