Par Stéphane Champagne
The Québec franchisor Adèle, specializing in residential cleaning services, is about to expand its presence in France.
President Gaétan Migneault and Vice-President Julie Bergevin have been preparing for this since 2010. With the establishment of Adèle France, the two entrepreneurs recently opened their first franchise in the Paris region. In December, they attended the Salon des Services à la Personne, the largest event of its kind in France. The result: they signed five Pre-Contractual Information Documents (DIP), marking the first step toward selling a franchise. Five more DIPs are scheduled to be signed at the end of January. “In March, we plan to open 5 to 10 franchises in the Paris region,” says Gaétan Migneault, who founded Adèle in 1994. According to Julie Bergevin, Adèle plans to establish 10 to 15 master franchises across various regions of France.
Each master franchise will be able to develop between 50 and 70 franchises. Adèle is therefore aiming for no fewer than 1,000 franchises in France. There are currently over 100 Adèle franchises in Québec, as well as 27 in Ontario, in the Toronto area and, more recently, in Ottawa. The concept has generated so much interest that investors from India have met with M. Migneault and Ms. Bergevin. “They are offering us a turnkey project. They tell us that India now has a middle class of 400 million people. It’s interesting, but you have to pick your battles,” says Gaétan Migneault with a laugh. The Adèle franchise network employs roughly 300 people. The company’s revenues are around 10 million CAD, with growth of 20 to 30% per year.