Franchise Stories from Asia is a series of interviews and videos by VF Franchise Consulting introducing unique franchises and franchise opportunities for Asia. In today’s interview, we are honoured to speak with Mr. Jan Morlok, Director of Global Expansion for RGIS UK.

Let’s begin!

VF Franchise: What is RGIS?

Mr. Jan Morlok: RGIS is an acronym for Retail Grocery Inventory Service. Early success allowed us to scale our business model and rapidly expand into other sectors. Decades later, we have far outgrown our name. RGIS now performs more than 174,000 stocktakes globally per year for companies of all types and sizes. RGIS is a global leading stock taking company. In our 63-year existence, we have established ourselves as the most trusted stocktaking provider globally.

VF Franchise: Who are your typical customers, and what problems do you solve for them?

Mr. Jan Morlok: RGIS now performs more than 174,000 stocktakes globally per year for companies of all types and sizes (retail, warehouse, distribution centers and many more). RGIS can provide a full stock check for your whole store or focused stock and cycle counts for perpetual inventory. RGIS also conducts additional solutions such as direct to store supplier back door checks, PI counts, cash audits, on-shelf availability (OSA) audits and replenishment services to compliment full wall-to-wall counts. These activities can help give clear visibility on specific product lines or departments and provide further insight into a company’s stock integrity. An accurate stockfile improves availability for our customers.

VF Franchise: What is your differentiation from your competitors?

Mr. Jan Morlok: Our proprietary technology offers full transparency with a focus on accuracy and creating a streamlined stocktaking process.

• STOCKTAKING SERVICES: RGIS is committed to your inventory and stock accuracy; providing the information needed to help businesses make well-informed business decisions. 

• INVENTORY EXPERTISE: We recruit and develop elite inventory counting teams that focus on the needs of our customers. With more than 78,117 events performed in Europe last year alone, RGIS delivers accurate and consistent service. 

• TOOLS: Our proprietary RM technology offers full transparency with a focus on accuracy, thereby creating a streamlined stocktaking process. We utilise wireless technology, in-store tablet applications, dashboard access, and web portals for easy data retrieval. Paperless inventories are available to support the environment.

• PROCESS: From stock-take scheduling to audit procedures, our unified goal is to minimise disruption to your business while maintaining a high standard of accuracy and transparency. 

• RESULTS: RGIS is committed to delivering first class accuracy and reliable results. Together we can improve your availability and stockfile accuracy.

VF Franchise: What is the prospect for RGIS UK in Asia?

Mr. Jan Morlok: For the next decade, Asia is perceived to remain attractive as an underserved market for international retail players. Currently valued at USD 1 trillion, the Asian retail market is expected to grow annually at nine percent, eventually reaching a value of USD 2 trillion as forecasted by Asia Times Online. Additionally, transactions involving the establishment of brick-and-mortar stores are expected to be brisk in key urban locations as physical presence still matters to most Asian consumers. All these factors present an excellent opportunity for RGIS to engage in this exiting market.

VF Franchise: How do you provide support and training for franchisees?

Mr. Jan Morlok: We provide in-depth training for our franchisees and continue to monitor and support their growth and development in the local market. RGIS shares our global customer list with franchisees and we connect them to the right contacts of our customer in their country. RGIS has an extensive marketing library of collateral which is shared with our franchisees, and we connect them with our global website. RGIS franchisees have access and support to our global IT and marketing departments to support their growth in the local market.

VF Franchise: What do you look for in franchisees (e.g. experience, financials, market knowledge…)?

Mr. Jan Morlok: For us the ideal franchisee would have following qualities:

• Background in a service-related industry (e.g. personnel leasing, audit, retail background).

• A company which already deals with businesses in retail, offering services to them who would like to expand their service portfolio.

• Background in one of the big auditing firms where one has been responsible for inventories.

• Company with a background in warehousing, distribution centers, or supply chain management.

VF Franchise: In general, how long does it take for your franchisees to achieve payback?

Mr. Jan Morlok: Payback can be achieved very quickly since our franchise is low investment. We offer a fair percentage of the franchisee’s turnover as a yearly fee. Payback can be achieved within one year of operations in some instances.

VF Franchise: What major challenges do new franchisees face being an RGIS franchisee, and how can RGIS help franchisees overcome them?

Mr. Jan Morlok: The major challenge is to generate new business for the franchisee, meaning to convince existing businesses to outsource their activities to the franchisee. RGIS will support and help the franchisee in the initial process to gain new customers through our long experience in developing inventory and other services within our clients. We know how to convince customers to outsource their services to RGIS and our franchisee. Our vast network across the world will help the franchisee to learn from other markets and be able to develop the right service for each potential client.

VF Franchise: Where do you see RGIS in the next five years?

Mr. Jan Morlok: RGIS is the leading player in the field of inventory and retail solutions/services worldwide. We will grow and strengthen our top position in the market. RGIS is the technology leader in our field and with our continuous investment and development in our IT, RGIS will continue to be the leader in providing innovative solutions to our clients. Through our franchise program, we will grow our international presence in any part of the world. 

Author: Sean T. Ngo is the CEO and Co-Founder of one of Asia’s leading franchise consultancy, VF Franchise Consulting. He is Vietnamese American and has been happily based in Vietnam for over 18 years. You can reach him at sean@vffranchiseconsulting.com.