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Franchises Flourish in Bolivia, for Better and Worse

Posted: admin on May 24 | Business & Economy

Traveling from Bolivia’s back roads to the cosmopolitan La Paz feels like traveling to another country, or to many countries. This is partly because, good or bad (or rather, good and bad), Bolivia’s big cities are experiencing a surge in international franchise restaurants. Since McDonald’s and Burger King reached Bolivia just ten years ago, a flurry of franchises, of Bolivian and foreign origins, have realized exceptional profits in Bolivia’s restaurant markets. “The franchise is a business that offers a definitive corporate and prestigious identity; the capacity to diminish the margin of error or risk; [and] a standard of quality in the products offered…” said Roberto Crocco, the general manager of Bolivian Foods, which manages all of Burger King’s franchises in Bolivia. Mcdonalds left Bolivia permanently in 2002 citing poor profit margins during a global restructuring in which they left 6 other countries. Chains in Bolivia, as everywhere else, reach unparalleled competitiveness because they offer reliable (and usually primitively relative) quality at consistently low prices. With superior technical knowledge of Bolivia’s markets, franchises have been able cater their service to more precisely meet consumer preferences. In Bolivia’s largest cities, this efficiency of service has also included the introduction of many international foods and customs, such as uniforms, non-Spanish words, foreign managers, famous personalities and promoters, and many stereotypical symbols of American and European society. The growth of franchises has also brought, much to the chagrin of many in President Morales’s party Movement for Socialism, growing revenue for foreign and perennially capitalist corporations like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Coca-Cola. Whether or not President Morales is right that “capitalism has only hurt Latin America,” many of these franchises have created jobs, recouped large profits, and, regulation permitting, are poised to continue their economic and undeniably cultural expansion.