Right at Home International expands into China
09/06/2011
Hot on the heels from its successful entry into the UK marketplace with Preston based master licence Holder Ken Deary, Right at Home International has built on this success and taken its services global through a master franchise license agreement with an entrepreneurial group in Beijing, China.
The first China Right at Home office opened June 9 in Beijing and is the first U.S. in-home senior care company with a master franchise in China. “The potential for growth is tremendous,” according to Allen Hager, Right at Home Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairman. “This agreement and what it represents is incredibly exciting,” Hager acknowledged.
“The Chinese have very strong filial piety, or respect, for their parents, so there is a cultural predisposition toward caring for the elderly within the family structure. People in China prefer to stay in their homes rather than move into an institutional environment, so there’s an increasing demand for professional in-home elderly care assistance.”
With more than 200 local independent franchisees in North America, Europe and South America, the Chinese agreement expands Right at Home’s services to four continents. With emphasis firmly on supporting new business creation, over 100 SME’s will be created within the UK alone, leading to up to 5,000 job opportunities over the next ten years.
Preston based Ken Deary, owner of Right at Home UK said: “This shows the commitment the company has to support its Franchisees and build the global brand. “The Right at Home business model offers a unique proposition to the care industry, we provide quality in-home care and assistance to elderly and disabled adults who still wish to live independently.”
Opportunities exist throughout the UK to be a part of a model that is a niche operation within a growth area. According to the Office for National Statistics, the percentage of the population aged 65 and over increased from 15 per cent in 1984 to 16 per cent in 2009, an increase of 1.7 million people. By 2034, 23 per cent of the population is projected to be aged 65 and over.
The fastest population increase has been in the number of those aged 85 and over, the “oldest old”. In 1984, there were around 660,000 people in the UK aged 85 and over, reaching 1.4 million in 2009. By 2034 those aged 85 and over is projected to reach 3.5 million and accounting for 5 per cent of the total population.
Having now taken the Franchise global, parallels can be drawn with the early days of other US based franchises that engaged a similar set of market conditions with overwhelming success.
Ken continues: “You don’t need a social care background to be a Right at Home franchisee in the UK – we will provide comprehensive training and ongoing support – but you do need the ability to manage people and the desire to provide the highest levels of quality care.”
“The rewards include the satisfaction of making a difference to people’s lives resulting in financial success from outstanding delivery.”
