I came to the Paris Franchise Expo to find a franchise to remember. Frankly, it is difficult choosing between some 450 exhibitors from 75 industries.

I could have chosen industries with the highest growth rate in the latest years, such as Real Estate with its 30% growth of the number of franchised units (Europeans don't peek across the ocean to see what's going on now in real estate?) or personal services, with a growth of 50%.

I chose a typical French business: fashion industry (Paris – fashion capital of the world), a medium sized franchise in full process of developing - Lollipops Paris , manufacturer of accessories for women (bags, shoes, belts, hats, jewelries, key-rings). They create 4 collections/year and more than 500 original items. Lollipops is "a Parisienne brand, aiming to provide women with an image full of glamor, feminine, amazing, mischievous and playful - a perfect girly panoply", according to the Creative Director, Marjorie Mathieu.

They are 90 shops under the brand Lollipops opened in France and in 21 foreign countries.

In France, 50% of the shops are company owned, and 50% are franchises. Abroad, most of the units are franchised. 80% of the production is for export, to countries like Italy and Spain, UK, Sweden, countries in Eastern Europe, Middle East, Asia, North and South America. "We are planning to open 6 new units in France and 25 abroad this year", says Yann Ducarouge the General Manager of Lollipops.

The start investment is of $110,000 USD, including the Franchise Fee of $18,700 and the first stock. The rent for the almost 430 square feet location is paid separately.

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