Who's coming to the DR?

[dv8]

pichardo. you are grossly overestimating our financial abilities. i am sure a deal like this is few hundred thousand dollars just for the licence. plus starting costs.
a family member inquired about macdonalds. just the franchise was cool 250k dollars. you must be kidding me.
i've already participated in running a dominican business. it was hell. and that was just a small local place. i never want to do it again.

 

[PICHARDO]

pichardo. you are grossly overestimating our financial abilities. i am sure a deal like this is few hundred thousand dollars just for the licence. plus starting costs. a family member inquired about macdonalds. just the franchise was cool 250k dollars. you must be kidding me. i've already participated in running a dominican business. it was hell. and that was just a small local place. i never want to do it again.

Maybe you're grossly underestimating your financial network!
Most expats have their own homes in the DR and keep relations with people in the country they came from.

A franchise like McDonald's will always be more expensive than others by their own financial guidelines policy. They want only investors for the long haul, not true entrepreneurs willing to take risks with their limited nest's egg.

You can sign a franchise contract in the DR with a foreign corporation with a lot of confidence even when your liquidity is small. Like I said, the more the merrier. The big financial backbone you need is the bank, not the investors. You can take USD$500,000 to a DR bank after establishing a good relationship and pitch your franchise plan to them. That's how one of my friends did it.

They'll be willing to become a passive partner (as guarantors) in the franchise contract and provide the liquidity up to 100% of your collateral deposit.

The way my friend did his franchise contract was to have the bank become a passive partner in the corporation and which was the beneficiary of the first five years on ROI repayments. After a set amount, the bank's passive participation ended and only stood as quasi guarantor, until the contract expired and was renegotiated.

Unlike in the states, commercial banks in the DR are allowed to participate as passive partners in corporate contracts. That's how it enables the bank to fulfill the guarantor's position in the contract.

Most expats have property or some savings when they come to live to the DR, unlike Dominicans, selling their homes or getting a mortgage they can raise some good money to invest here.

If you have none of them, then you can also buy premium life insurance and cash it in (in the states). Use the money wisely in the DR and multiply the earnings.

Another option is to use your credit card credit limits to obtain cash which you can reinvest and become a partner with others.

When there's a will, there's a way. Some are just a bit harder than others to get, but doable!

90% of corporate America has not even heard about the Dominican economy, let alone investment opportunities by expats.

 

[dv8]

pichi, i don't even have 10k dollars, let alone 500.000.
and one thing i learnt in communism: never borrow money.

 

[PICHARDO]

pichi, i don't even have 10k dollars, let alone 500.000. and one thing i learnt in communism: never borrow money.

Ok. I get it now...You should save some money for rainy days... Didn't your mom tell you that?

 

[dv8]

this is all i saved remember we are on a startup here. we bought this house just few years ago. married 5 years. living off cash, no taking credits, no borrowing. takes time to build up a budget.
and above all, we would never, ever, gather any money with a house as a collateral.

 

[Rattus_Rattus]

and one thing i learnt in communism: never borrow money.

This is a important detail we all should try to live after.

 

[CARIBETORNO]

I say let's NOT homogenize the DR.
Many came here to get away, not to be herded, by a global franchise mentality.
Yes it could be an opportunity, but for whom and for what?
The many models you continuously propose are often ugly, unhealthy
and exploitative in many ways, fueling the fires of the oh-so-ugly class system here.

Shop local, be vocal.

I agree. Applebees is not that poplular in USA any more. Its ok but not like they used to be.

 

[cobraboy]

I agree. Applebees is not that poplular in USA any more. Its ok but not like they used to be.

I never cared for Applebee's. Just another Bennigans with a diferent name. Meh.
With few exceptions, haven't most US food franchises crashed and burned here?

[threadjacking alert]

Speaking of crashing and burning, what happened to Pollo Victorina across from the CT station in Los Jardines? That had been there a loooong time and has been shut down for a while now...

[/alert]

 

[NALs]

Victorina's (as well as KFC and Pollo Rey chains) have been suffering ever since the Chinese got he idea of opening dirt cheap pica pollos all over the place. There used to be a KFC in San Francisco de Macoris (SFM) and according to rumors, things were going great until the pica pollo invasion started. Today the only foreign chains that still has a presence in SFM is Burger King, Pizza Hut and maybe a handful of others, but there's no KFC anymore.

The aggressive business model that the Chinese have implemented has actually caused fear among Dominican business owners. Many even vocally say that the last thing they want to hear is that some Chinese will open a business near their own. There have even been cases of Dominican business owners trying to stop several Chinese people from opening any type of business close to theirs and some Dominican business owners have definitely become anti-Chinese everything.

 

[keepcoming]

Applebee's, Chili's, Fridays, pretty much cut from the same mold. None of them all that great.

 

[cobraboy]

Victorina's (as well as KFC and Pollo Rey chains) have been suffering ever since the Chinese got he idea of opening dirt cheap pica pollos all over the place. There used to be a KFC in San Francisco de Macoris (SFM) and according to rumors, things were going great until the pica pollo invasion started. Today the only foreign chains that still has a presence in SFM is Burger King, Pizza Hut and maybe a handful of others, but there's no KFC anymore.

The aggressive business model that the Chinese have implemented has actually caused fear among Dominican business owners. Many even vocally say that the last thing they want to hear is that some Chinese will open a business near their own. There have even been cases of Dominican business owners trying to stop several Chinese people from opening any type of business close to theirs and some Dominican business owners have definitely become anti-Chinese everything.

Maybe Dominicans can learn a few things from the Chinese.

But I can see what you're saying. Here in Jarabacoa one of the BEST chicken places is Chinese. Excellent food, great service, really clean and good prices. What's not to like?

 

[Criss Colon]

I see that "Senor PEE" is inventing a new persona for himself.
An Entrapenoir.
What's the name of your two friend's franchise??????
"Pie-In-The-Sky"?????????????????????????????
HEY!, now THERE'S a NAME for a franchise!
I once looked into a "Popeye's" franchise when they first came "Up North".
$250,000 for each unit, BUT, you had to buy 5 units.
They claimed that they needed at least 5 stores in one area to make the TV, and "Print" advertising pay off.
I blew the money on "Hookers"!
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC
"Popeyes" never made it in Boston, I have my "Memories"!

 

[Expat13]

Victorina's (as well as KFC and Pollo Rey chains) have been suffering ever since the Chinese got he idea of opening dirt cheap pica pollos all over the place. There used to be a KFC in San Francisco de Macoris (SFM) and according to rumors, things were going great until the pica pollo invasion started. Today the only foreign chains that still has a presence in SFM is Burger King, Pizza Hut and maybe a handful of others, but there's no KFC anymore.

The aggressive business model that the Chinese have implemented has actually caused fear among Dominican business owners. Many even vocally say that the last thing they want to hear is that some Chinese will open a business near their own. There have even been cases of Dominican business owners trying to stop several Chinese people from opening any type of business close to theirs and some Dominican business owners have definitely become anti-Chinese everything.

i SAY GO CHINA!! I agree, where I just moved there is a chinese owned pica poll/ chinese food combo. Far better service, food and prices than anything Dominican-and at least 25% cheaper!!! Mybe one day Dominican businesses will realize to survive you need to care about customer service and not price gouge yourself out of the market. I have no sympathy for those who dont get this.

 

[dv8]

there is a small ferreteria in POP, run by el chino. while most small places fail he is going strong. some things he sells cheaper than others, some more expensive. but he sells. every day, until very late, way later than others. and opens on a sunday. emergency? el chino will be there, to sell you parts.

so kudos to the guy. he knows how to make money. and he likes our dogs so additional plus.

 

[dv8]

on my last visit to KK it was nearly empty, a striking difference form my first two or three trips there. but they are still open so they must be doing somewhat fine.
but a pizza hut in POP closed and so did hooters in terra mall in santiago and so did chili's. those franchises are too much of a gamble for me, relying on a whim of the customer and la moda. even with money i would not enter the business, there are better negocios to be opened at half a million dollars that pichi seems to treat like chele.

yes, the sense of what's sweet and not here is very strange. i love black forest gateau and that's what we has at our wedding. my MIL did not like it, she said it was too sweet. really? as opposed to pure sugar of a bizcocho dominicano? are you kidding me?

 

[jinty05]

One sweet that does lend itself to the climate here is Tiramisu and should you ever get to Santiago I will gladly provide you with an example of same.

yes, the sense of what's sweet and not here is very strange. i love black forest gateau and that's what we has at our wedding. my MIL did not like it, she said it was too sweet. really? as opposed to pure sugar of a bizcocho dominicano? are you kidding me?

 

[dv8]

tiramisu!!!! i love it so much! i tried to make it here few times but it always ended in a disaster: twice i ate the whole large box of it in two days sometimes it was even worse because i had to share and the cake only lasted a day.

 

[Onions/Carrots]

pichardo. you are grossly overestimating our financial abilities. i am sure a deal like this is few hundred thousand dollars just for the licence. plus starting costs.
a family member inquired about macdonalds. just the franchise was cool 250k dollars. you must be kidding me.
i've already participated in running a dominican business. it was hell. and that was just a small local place. i never want to do it again.

Yeah exactly!!! Listen to Pichardo alright and see what happens. He can cite or make up all the success stories regarding American brand franchises. I say look at the cemetery of dead DR businesses and you'd need all the DR to fill it in. Opening up a franchise in the US is a difficult proposition. Imagine doing the same in a 3rd world country like the DR. You're gambling your arse which brings me to my point.

Treat the DR the same way you'd treat a casino. Only enter or invest with money that you are both willing and able to lose. If you follow this advice then you can follow through on all of Pichardo's cockamamie ideas. If you hit it big you can brag on DR1 how well it went and thank Pichardo for advice that I gave, LOL! The DR is truly a dangerous place to open and run a business and the probability of failure far exceeds the risk chance.

But if you want to roll the dice remember my advice. If you run a business the way a business is supposed to be run and it all turns out alright remember that chance had as much to do with it as sound business acumen. There are far too many unknowns in such a chaotic space like the DR. It takes a gambling man and the willingness to lose to make it in those shark infested waters.

Who succeeds in business in the DR? The ones who make it long term are the ones who borrow so much that the lenders are on the hook. If the lenders try to foreclose on the ones they lent the money to they will never get back a fraction of what they lent. So that business though bankrupt continues operating. The lender overextending himself hopes to get back any piecemeal payment crumbs that come his way. Thus, the business seems financially sound but actually he has the bank and his investors were it hurts the most.

Case in point is a middleman agro-goods guy we know. He "borrows" the produce from the farmers in Constanza and takes it to market-El Mercado. If he sells at a price ensuring a profit he then pays back the farmers keeping his cut. If he doesn't which is what usually happens he borrows actual cash from private investors and pays off the farmers somewhat taking a portion of the loan money to sustain his lavish lifestyle. This is how slowly both farmers and investors get ensnared into his trap.

He is now in debt to the farmers and the investors. He borrows more produce and loan money weaving an even larger bubble of debt paying off in bits and pieces investors and farmers. He continues repeating this cycle until either the farm goods settle him in the black. The problem is that by this time he has been in the red so long that any actual profits are eviscerated from so much debt he has incurred. He then continues borrowing more money showing as proof of good standing actual profits from agro-goods sold at market.

He gets credit for the fuel he consumes on his fleet of Daihatsu flatbed trucks. Those gasoline station operators are also on the hook for his piecemeal payment plan ensnares them too. He is late on his workers pay and they are stuck since bits and pieces of different months are owed. His payments on the loans he took out on his fleet of Daihatsu flatbed trucks also come in drips and drabs. The bank and finance companies are on the hook also.

This individual builds debt to farmers, investors, suppliers, and banks to the tune of tens of millions of pesos. Mind you this is one example of how a business is run in the DR. He has only incurred loss after loss with farm goods mostly being sold at a loss. The farmers and investors are up to their gills in loss and can only hope to be paid something someday until they go bust themselves if that. If you multiply this pattern over different types of commerce in the DR you begin to see what passes for success and the tenuous ground upon which DR business is founded.