Spain

The Kingdom of Spain is located in Southwestern Europe bordering France, Portugal, the Mediterranean Sea, and Bay of Biscay. Spain is about double the size of Oregon and covers an area of 504,782 sq. kilometers.  The total population is 40.5 million and is growing at a rate of 0.072% with 77% living in urban areas.  The capital of Madrid has a population of 5.5 million with other main cities including Barcelona (4.9 mil), Valencia (2.3 mil), Seville (1.8 mil), and Malaga (1.3 mil). The people are governed by a parliamentary monarchy and they are predominately Roman Catholic.  The primary language is Spanish, however Catalan, Galician, and Basque are all official languages regionally. Spain joined the EU in 1986 and adopted the Euro as currency in 1999.

Spain has strong economy comparable to those of the other European powers.  Spain has experienced great economic success for the past 15 years, but ended 2008 with problems with high unemployment rates.  Spain’s main trade partners are mostly in the EU including, Germany, France, Portugal, Italy, UK, and Netherlands, but also include the US and China. Its primary imports are machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals, semi-finished goods, foodstuffs, consumer goods, and measuring and medical control instruments. Exports include machinery, motor vehicles, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, medicines, and other consumer goods. Spain’s GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) is $1.378 trillion and is growing at a real rate of 1.1% with an inflation rate of 1.4%. Spain ranked 49th out of 183 countries in the World Bank Group’s Ease of Doing Business Ranking.
 

Disclosure laws: Franchising Laws Overview 

• Disclosure is required at least 20 days prior to the agreement, any “pre-agreement” or payment of money.

Relationship laws: 

• None.

Registration laws: 

• Franchisor must register with the Registry of Franchisors, including:
  • Information on trademarks
  • Description of franchise concept
  • Statistics on franchised and company-owned outlets in Spain
• Master franchisees must register their master franchise agreements
• Registrations must be updated annually
• Registration must be complete before contract is signed.

Click the links below for articles with more information on Franchising in Spain

Franchises in Spain (2017) courtesy of the Spanish Franchise Association (AEF)

Spanish Franchises Around the World (2017) courtesy of the Spanish Franchise Association (AEF)

Doing Business in Spain (2012)

Is Europe a Fit for Your Franchise? (2010)

Reform of European Union Rules on Distribution (2010)

European Commission's New Block Exemption Rules Enter Into Force June 1 (2010)

US Commercial Service Market Report (2009)

Picking the Best European Countries for Franchising  (2009)

News From Around the World: Franchising in the EU  (2008)

* CPI Score is published by Transparency International and relates to the perceptions of the degree of corruption as seen by business people and country analysts and ranges between 100 (highly clean) and 0 (highly corrupt).  

**Ease of Doing Business Ranking is determined by the World Bank Group and is ranked out of a possible 185 countries. www.doingbusiness.org  

Most recent statistics have been taken from the CIA World Factbook unless noted otherwise. 

International Franchising Opportunities

After you have finished researching the international markets, learning international expansion strategies and best practices, and understanding the basics of international franchising law, IFA provides numerous opportunities for franchising internationally.