Olivier Pires Bajaluna, CEO of Cerca, double winner at the CEO Awards 2025 for his innovation in multi-site network management. Discover the keys to this success.
The franchising world gathered at Porte de Versailles from March 15 to 17 for Franchise Expo Paris 2025. This is a leading trade show for growing brands, future franchisees… and the partners who support them on a daily basis—like us at Cerca. Out on the floor alongside our clients, the team experienced three intense days filled with discussions, demos, applications… and a contest that certainly got visitors excited. Want to hear all about it? Encounters… and 114 client brands we met This trade show is a bit like our “back-to-school” event for the franchising world: a chance to reconnect with our clients, discover new concepts, discuss training, marketing, AI, recruitment… and get a feel for a sector on the move. With 114 client brands in attendance, we had the pleasure of meeting many of them at their booths, supporting them in their growth efforts, and sharing in their day-to-day lives—between a coffee break, a demo, and a few kilometers walked through the aisles. And if you spotted blue sweaters with “Cerca” on them, that was definitely us (thanks to Franchise Print for the custom look). Expo’Pass: 1,333 applications collected in 3 days For many brands, the trade show is first and foremost an opportunity to recruit their future franchisees. But managing applications on the fly at a booth is no walk in the park… unless everything is centralized in a tool designed for that purpose. Our Expo’Pass solution was adopted by 52 client brands during the trade show. Its goal? To help each on-site team save time by collecting candidate data and uploading it to the Cerca platform. The result? 195 customized Expo’Passes deployed; 1,333 applications collected in 3 days, broken down as follows: 📅 Saturday, March 15: 598 📅 Sunday, March 16: 402 📅 Monday, March 17: 333 A real time-saver for the teams at the trade show, and a solid foundation for effectively tracking applications after the event. A contest to wrap things up (and make a few people happy) Franchise Expo Paris 2025 was also an opportunity to reward the commitment of the participating brands… with a contest that highlighted training (and a bit of travel). 🎁 Up for grabs: A complete e-learning package (valued at €20,000) Two professional interviews (valued at €1,500) And for employees who entered their brand: a trip for two to Europe After the drawing, here are the winners of this first edition (which we hope won’t be the last): 🥇 Noz wins the e-learning package—and Gael Gillet is off to enjoy it!🥈 SoCoo’c & 🥉 Mondial Box are taking home their video interviews—and their employees, Marion Deyres and Magdalena Desvergne, are off on a getaway. Congratulations again to them, and thank you to all the brands that participated with a smile (and sometimes a bit of friendly competition in the air). What’s next? Franchise Expo Paris 2025 is already over… but the year is just beginning. At Cerca, we’re continuing to produce video content, roll out network management tools, and support you in your growth challenges. Follow us on LinkedIn so you don’t miss out on the latest news, tools, and key franchise events. And if you’d like to learn more about the Expo’Pass or our video services… feel free to contact us. You might also be interested in these articles:
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) involves voluntarily integrating environmental, social, economic, and ethical concerns into our activities and our relationships with stakeholders. In other words, it’s about doing more than just business: it’s about bringing a human dimension to our daily actions and working to reduce our impact on the planet. 🌍🤝 At Cerca, we recognize that the challenges are immense and that every initiative counts. That’s why our entire team is very proud to contribute our modest drop in this ocean of needs. The Importance of CSR Commitment for Cerca As a provider of SaaS solutions, we support more than 400 retail chains and their 35,000 retail locations in their day-to-day operations. This position gives us a special social responsibility: to act in the interest of the common good. Our clients—whether they’re in the franchise sector or any other multi-location network—are increasingly concerned with reducing their carbon footprint and showing solidarity. Why? Because their own customers now expect companies to commit to a more sustainable and equitable future. How? By choosing partners who share these values. 10 % of our revenue for the charitable sector 🌱 For us, CSR also means taking concrete action to help those who need it most. That’s why we’ve decided to donate 10 % of our revenue to two charities: UNICEF: an organization that works worldwide to protect children by defending their rights and helping them reach their full potential, from early childhood through adolescence. Les Restos du Cœur: an iconic organization in France that fights hunger and poverty. This financial support is made possible by the value we create together with our community. Thank you to our customers and partners who, by working alongside us, contribute directly to these acts of solidarity. A comprehensive CSR approach: from our in-house vocational training program to green servers Our commitment to making a social impact goes far beyond charity. We have implemented several initiatives to build a responsible and sustainable business model: The creation of a corporate vocational training center (CFA) We train young people without a diploma to help them obtain a recognized qualification. This is an opportunity to develop skills and promote professional integration. Servers powered 100 % by green energy sources This measure helps us maintain a carbon footprint equivalent to that of a single French person for an entire year… across all of our 400 client brands and their 35,000 retail locations! Why does this matter to you, too? You’re increasingly expected to communicate your own CSR commitment, and we know how essential it is to choose suppliers who align with your values. By adopting our SaaS solution, you’re making the choice: A responsible partner: we share the same commitment to reducing our environmental impact and supporting charitable causes. Greater consistency: for your end customers, your CSR commitment gains credibility when your entire supply chain is aligned with the same approach. Join the Cerca Revolution At Cerca, we’re convinced that every action counts toward building a more equitable and sustainable future. That’s why we’ll continue to invest in social and environmental projects, while evolving our SaaS solutions to meet the challenges of multi-location networks. Our ambition: to be a responsible player, capable of helping to build a fairer and more environmentally friendly world… one small step at a time. You might be interested in these articles:
We are delighted to announce that our client, Cryotera France, has won the Silver Award in the Emerging Brand category at the European Franchise Awards 2024. This award marks a significant milestone for this company founded in 2016 by Bastien and Guillaume Bouchet, after being inspired by the beneficial effects of cryotherapy on a loved one. What are the European Franchise Awards? The European Franchise Awards are a prestigious event that annually celebrates the most innovative and successful franchises in Europe. This event highlights brands that distinguish themselves through their excellence, commitment to innovation, and ability to adapt to evolving markets. Cryotera France: Leader in Well-being Through Cryotherapy In just 8 years, Cryotera has become a key player in the field of cryotherapy in France. In 2019, the brand reached a major milestone by developing a nationwide franchise network. Its model is based on a non-medicinal and non-invasive approach, focused on the benefits of cold for well-being, sports, and health. With its commitment to innovation and comprehensive support for its franchisees, Cryotera continues to attract entrepreneurs interested in this rapidly growing market. With several centers already operating throughout France, Cryotera also has an internationally recognized research division. The Silver Award obtained at the European Franchise Awards is a recognition of the relevance of their concept and their ability to grow while maintaining high standards of quality and innovation. These articles may interest you:
It's official. Franchise On Cloud is now Cerca. We announced this to our clients back in January. We revealed ourselves quite a bit at Franchise Expo 2024 with our polo shirts. 👀 We are officially taking the step today. Indeed, our last ten years of strong growth and our 400 client brands allow us a new development ambition: to enable all these multi-location brands to accelerate and master their growth in order to become or remain leaders in their sector. While franchising remains in our DNA, integrated retail brands face the same challenges: managing multiple locations creates distance between headquarters and field operations, whether they are employees or independent, and ultimately distance from customers. The Cerca solution aims to bring together all the stakeholders involved in achieving the only thing that ultimately matters: creating an optimal customer experience for your brand, whether that customer walks into a location in Marseille, Tours, Berlin, Malaga, or New York. A very big thank you to our clients for everything we've started building together in recent years. 💪 Thank you in advance for what we will achieve together in the next ten years. 🚀🌟 These articles may interest you:
Search for Le Club de la Franchise! We are particularly proud to announce that we are now privileged partners of Le Club de la Franchise: the club for influence and sharing for the franchise leaders of tomorrow! Le Club de la Franchise organizes monthly meetings between franchisors and companies providing development levers for networks. In short, Le Club de la Franchise is concentrated collective intelligence! 🚀💪 So if you too want to advance all topics related to development and management in franchising in France and Europe, we warmly invite you to join this club! The stakes are high and the opportunities for our economy are significant. France clearly has a role to play. These articles may interest you:
It’s natural to want to continue growing your business once it has achieved some success. If you’re here, it’s because you’re in that situation. Turning your business into a franchise network is a great way to achieve bigger goals. Here, we’ll walk you through all the steps you need to take to take your professional life to the next level. Among other things, you’ll learn how to create a business plan and understand the legal implications of this change. The Importance of Having a Well-Defined Concept To franchise your concept, it must first be well-defined and, above all, proven to be successful. You can develop a franchise in any industry, provided you have a thorough understanding of all its aspects. The most promising sectors—which have many proven franchise concepts—are beauty, food, automotive, and real estate. A good way to learn more is to attend franchise trade shows. You’ll need to familiarize yourself with what already exists and identify gaps in the market so you can innovate and become more competitive. Developing a Business Plan Creating a business plan is essential when you want to turn your business into a franchise. It is developed after conducting market research to ensure the feasibility of your project. A business plan allows you to verify the financial viability of your concept. To gain the support of banks and your other business partners, this assessment is essential. In a business plan, you’ll need to present: Your business concept The market analysis you’ve conducted The business model you’re relying on (there are so many to choose from) Your communication strategy Your marketing strategy, etc. From a cash flow perspective, it must also include investment costs, a projected balance sheet and income statement, a financing plan, and a cash flow budget. The Importance of Having a Pilot Unit To move forward with greater confidence, a company needs to ensure the reliability of its approach. Having a pilot unit will therefore help you validate your project. The idea here is to test the conceptual model you’ve developed against the realities of the market. More specifically, this involves setting up one (or more) retail locations that closely mimic actual operating conditions. The location, staffing, pricing, and suppliers are among the key characteristics this unit must have. It is these elements that you will need to replicate for your franchisees. The success of such a venture will demonstrate your mastery of the business as a future franchisor. Gaining this confidence will prove that you can pass on your experience to your future franchisees, who, in turn, will benefit from your training programs. Creating an Operations Manual Now that you know you can pass on your expertise, you’ll need to describe it in detail in an operations manual. This document serves an educational purpose. In fact, it enables franchisees to replicate your methods and procedures. The operations manual covers topics such as: marketing, human resources, management, production, your sales techniques, the design of your premises, accounting, and more. Additionally, feedback from your franchisees will help you refine it. In this way, you can improve your business model. You must continually monitor market trends and the competition in order to adapt. Franchising Your Concept with Cerca: The Pre-Contractual Information Document (DIP) Under the Doubin Act of December 31, 1989, every franchisor is required to provide a prospective franchisee with a DIP. This must be done before the franchise agreement is signed. Once the franchisee receives this document, they have 20 days—the legal cooling-off period—to sign the contract. The purpose of this document is to ensure transparent and comprehensive pre-contractual information for the prospective franchisee, who will then sign with full knowledge of the facts. The DIP must include, for example: Your brand’s profile Your market analysis The history of your network (date of establishment, list of members, revenue trends, etc.) Your growth prospects Your brand’s annual financial statements (for the last two fiscal years) The contract Containing several clauses, this document sets forth the rights and obligations of the franchisor and the franchisees. It includes essential clauses, among which are: The intellectual property clause This is the clause through which you grant the franchisee a license to use your brand. This clause also defines the parties’ commitments and obligations regarding the protection and maintenance of the brand. The supply clauses These may designate exclusive or recommended suppliers. These clauses precisely define the scope of products subject to an exclusivity obligation. The Non-Competition and Non-Affiliation Clause This clause is very important for you, the franchisor. It prevents the franchisee from engaging in a business similar to that of your network. It also prevents the franchisee from joining a competing network. Determining How to Manage Your Network Here, you’ll need to determine the skills and profiles required to support your network. This involves considering the composition of your corporate headquarters and deciding on the philosophy that will guide the management of your network. This could involve adopting a traditional top-down approach, where the network headquarters decides what policies the network will implement. You could also opt for a more collaborative strategy that involves participatory decision-making bodies. In such an approach, all network members are consulted during the decision-making process. Don’t hesitate to seek guidance from a franchise expert or use management software designed for franchises. This valuable assistance will help you assess how your network is managed and enable you to manage it more effectively. In[…]
Another great year has just come to a close, and we have plenty of plans for 2023! Before diving into 2023 with high hopes, we think it’s always a good idea to take a step back and reflect on the past year. Let’s take a look back at 2022. Our Year in Numbers The “all-in-one” collaborative platform—as we like to call it—dedicated to franchises, now includes more than 250 brands across 100 countries on 5 continents. That’s more than 300,000 daily users, with a total of 6 languages available on Cerca ex Franchise On Cloud. We’re proud of our partnerships and our clients, whom we’re fortunate to support in their quest for growth. According to an annual survey conducted as part of the renewal of our ISO 9001 certification, we achieved a customer satisfaction score of over 98 %. The 2022 Franchise Development Report: A Great Way to Start the Year Last year also began with a focus on data, as we felt we lacked sufficient data on the franchise sector. Thanks to our years of experience, we were well-positioned to create the Franchise Development Report in partnership with EverFruit Digital. The webinar is still available, as is the survey. We continue to analyze consumer behavior in order to provide a service that is as tailored as possible to the needs of franchisees and franchisors, particularly when it comes to recruiting franchise candidates. Franchise Trade Shows and Forums Every year, two major events take place that bring together all the key players in the franchise sector. The first takes place in Paris: Franchise Expo is a true meeting place for entrepreneurs. For four days, the French and global franchise ecosystem gathers at Franchise Expo Paris. The second, the Franchise Forum in October in Lyon, brings together more than 160 brands seeking to accelerate their growth by recruiting new franchisees. This event is primarily aimed at franchisors, organized retail brands, and experts in the franchise sector. We’re thrilled to have had the opportunity to meet with franchisors and our clients there and to showcase our solution to them. A mobile app for franchisors and franchisees A new version of our mobile app has been available since this year. It includes all the day-to-day features needed to communicate within the network. Available on Android and iPhone, it puts your network right at your fingertips. This includes all the latest news with comments and likes, the interactive directory, messaging, workgroups, and notifications—and even audits and visit reports starting this summer! Discover Cerca: Local digital marketing integrated into management software The year continues, and so do our investments—always with the goal of supporting our clients in their local marketing efforts, as well as in communication within the franchise network itself. A look back at the various features implemented over the past year: Focus on local marketing with the Cerca x Mobilosoft partnership Mobilosoft complements Cerca’s service offering in local digital marketing. It helps drive web-to-store traffic and addresses the finding that nearly 80% of consumers who conducted a local search visited a store within an 8-km radius (HubSpot Marketing Statistics 2021). It strengthens the training offering and provides a collaborative digital marketing platform for franchise networks and their franchisees to better organize and manage their online reputation. Communication within the franchise network The day-to-day operations of the network and its coordinators have been simplified thanks to our new in-network communication features. News items can now be sorted by location, and visit reports can be duplicated from an existing report without losing comments or follow-up information. Additionally, when setting up action plans within a visit report, a new tab allows you to check if an action plan is already in progress, thereby preventing duplicates. Regarding mapping, you can now merge catchment areas for a specific location. Location markers can also be hidden. These new features streamline the platform’s use and make network coordinators’ work easier. Events are changing! Also new this year: Zoom is now available for video conferences, as is Google Meet. In addition to Teams and GoToMeeting, you can now host video conferences using the popular Zoom and Google Meet platforms via Cerca. Furthermore, starting this year, a single email is all it takes—instead of two as before. The first email already contains the link for the video conference and will also be available in the event listing on your calendar. With just one click, you can join the video call! A Look Back at the Major Consumer Trends of 2022 Consumers will search online before potentially making a purchase locally, as we mentioned in this article: searches for “open now nearby” have surged by more than 400% year-over-year worldwide. Shopping is becoming increasingly omnichannel: social media, the web, apps, newsletters, and more. But the reality is that consumers are primarily looking for added value. They scrutinize offers and promotions, while also paying close attention to a company’s values to ensure they align with their own. Last but not least, on social media, micro-influencers are on the rise, and short videos with high added value are driving more and more conversions. That said, of all the trends, one remains constant: the “position zero” in local SEO remains the most effective lever. To track consumer trends and drive local marketing, we’ve also launched a partnership with DeepReach. Catchment areas are predefined, allowing us to activate a set of local digital ad campaigns tailored to the franchisee’s needs. In summary, we’re very pleased with the year that[…]
The concept of franchising emerged in the 1930s and really took off at the end of the 20th century. Today, it is a growth strategy that is becoming increasingly popular in France and throughout Europe. Would you like to learn a little more about franchising and why you should choose this path for your business growth? In this article, discover the history of franchising and its benefits. What is franchising? Franchising, as we know it today, is a type of partnership between two legally independent entities that are nevertheless bound by a contract governing the relationship between the franchisee and the franchisor. This allows an entrepreneur to start a business as an independent operator while limiting risks. For the franchisor, this approach enables them to build their business expansion on a network of business owners actively engaged in their local markets. There are three fundamental principles unique to franchising that are essential to understand: brand identity, know-how, and technical and commercial support. The franchisor is obligated to: 1 – Share the brand’s identifying elements The franchisor guarantees the franchisee access to key elements of the network, such as the brand, the trade name, the overall business concept, and the visual identity system. The franchisor is responsible for maintaining and developing the brand image. The franchisor must ensure that the franchisee complies with the various guidelines for using the brand and other brand identity elements made available to the franchisee under the contract. When the contract ends, the franchisor must ensure that the former franchisee does not use the brand’s customer-recognizable symbols. 2 – Transferring the Franchise Network’s Know-How Know-how is a set of technical, logistical, commercial, IT, and management methods exclusive to the brand. The Doubin Law regulates it in the context of franchising and stipulates that it must be secret, substantial, and identifiable. The know-how is documented in writing in an operations manual known as “the Bible” and is conveyed to the franchisee during initial training as well as on a day-to-day basis through dedicated materials. Since it is confidential, the franchisee agrees not to disclose the know-how (particularly to competing networks) at the risk of harming the franchise network. 3 – Provide commercial and technical support to franchisees Commercial and technical support is mandatory in franchising. It begins at the project’s inception, continues through the store’s opening, and lasts for the entire duration of the contract. This support is the franchise system’s key advantage over independent entrepreneurship. Each location in the network is regularly visited by a field manager who shares their experience and verifies that the concept is being implemented in accordance with established rules. Who invented franchising? The history of franchising and its evolution! The franchise system truly emerged in the 1930s, although it would not formally develop until several years later. In the United States, the first company to use the franchise system to expand was General Motors. In the wake of the 1929 economic crisis, General Motors sought to dethrone its longtime rival: Ford. The company then granted licenses to independent entrepreneurs so they could open retail locations almost everywhere in the United States. In France, the Prouvost Group was the first to adopt the franchise concept. This company, which specialized in wool manufacturing, primarily owned spinning mills, and at that time, its wool was distributed to stores in large bags. Through one of its brands, Pingouin, the group decided to market the wool in balls to facilitate transportation and retail sales. This required creating new store formats, training retailers on the new products, and supporting them throughout this new venture. That was when franchising was born in France in the 1930s. It wasn’t until the 1970s that franchising truly became widespread. In the United States, the number of franchises increased significantly right after World War II, as was the case with McDonald’s. It was during this same period that the franchise system expanded significantly in France. Franchising thus gained popularity thanks to Charles Géraud Seroude, who brought the concept back from the United States. He had been trained in the concept and methods of franchising at the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. Charles Géraud Seroude then convinced major industry players such as La Redoute, Yoplait, and DMC (Dollfus-Mieg et Compagnie) to adopt this model for their growth. Since then, the largest corporate groups have chosen franchising as a means of expansion. In a few figures, franchising in France in 2020 represented: 2,049 franchise networks, 78,218 retail locations, 757,852 direct and indirect jobs, and 67.8 billion euros in revenue. Check out our study on the franchise sector! Why are more and more companies choosing the franchise model? Franchising offers numerous advantages when expanding a business. Here are the main reasons: 1 – Franchising enables rapid network expansion. In a franchise, the creation of each new retail location is financed by the franchisee, so the cost of expanding the network is limited. It’s possible to open multiple retail locations without waiting to secure the necessary financing. Since costs are reduced, the brand can grow more quickly. 2 – It facilitates expansion across a wide geographic area. The denser a brand’s network, the closer it is to customers, and the more its revenue will grow. Franchising thus allows for greater proximity and visibility through more retail locations. 3 – Start a business, yes, but never alone! Each retail location is run by an entrepreneur[…]
The new version of our mobile app is now available. It includes the key everyday features for interacting within your network (News with comments and likes, Interactive Directory, Messaging, Work Groups, and Notifications), while all other features remain available in a responsive design. What’s coming next to the mobile app? Audits and visit reports before summer break for program leaders! The super-handy “exchange memo” feature before the end of May! The essential features of the “Candidate Recruitment” module before fall! This mobile app uses your brand’s colors to personalize the user experience (Apple does not yet allow a brand-specific icon for two completely identical apps…). Here’s a reminder of the steps to easily download and set up your personal account on the mobile app. __________ To download the Franchise On Cloud mobile app on Android or iPhone, please follow the steps below: 1. On your smartphone’s home screen, locate the Play Store icon. If you’re using an iPhone, find the “App Store” app and tap it to open it. 2. You’ll be taken to the App Store’s home screen. In the search bar, type “franchise on cloud.” In the list of apps, you’ll find the Franchise On Cloud icon. Tap it. 3. Next, to install the app, tap “Install.” 4. Once the app has finished downloading, tap “Open.” 5. You’ll then be taken to the mobile app’s login page: 6. You now have two options for logging into your account: The first is to enter your email, password, and platform URL. Then click “Log In.” The second, simpler option is to log in using a QR code. To log in with a QR code, click “Log In via QR Code.” The Camera app will then launch. Log in to your platform using your laptop or desktop computer. In the top bar, click the smartphone icon. 7. Point your smartphone’s camera at the QR code displayed on your computer. 8. You’ll then be taken to the home page. Would you also like to manage your network and recruit candidates using a single tool? To contact us or follow Cerca news ➜ ☎️ LinkedIn You might also be interested in these articles:
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