Franchise rights are regulated by a European regulation that applies directly in Romania and is not taken over by internal regulations, declared Daniela Badila, general director at the Competition Council, at a specialized event on Thursday.
"Franchise rights are regulated by a European regulation that applies directly in Romania, so it is not taken over by internal regulations. It is a regulation for the exemption of vertical agreements by categories, the franchise being a type of vertical agreement, namely the franchisor gives something to the franchisee. In addition to franchises, there are other categories covered by this regulation, also usual contracts, exclusive distribution contracts or selective distribution contracts," she said.
According to Daniela Badila, the regulation provides that in the situation where the franchisor or franchisee has a market share, in which they operate, of less than 30%, and the franchise agreement does not contain serious restrictions, then it is automatically exempt from the Competition Law.
"Those agreements, even if they are concluded between the franchisor and franchisees, with shares below 30% of the market, must not contain serious restrictions. The permitted restrictions are those related to the protection of the brand identity, the coherence of the brand and the use of the know-how that the franchisee acquires from the franchisor. These are usually permitted, but within certain limits," explained Daniela Badila.
She added that the duration of the franchise contract must not exceed five years, in order to be exempt from the non-competition clause.
In the director's opinion, the most important severe restrictions in franchise contracts are the ban on online orders for the franchisee and the imposition of a price by the franchisor.
"Online orders cannot be prohibited. The fulfillment of online orders represents a form of passive sales that cannot be exempted. (...) What the franchisor can do is recommend a price, but not take measures to impose that price. So, we cannot, from a recommendation, go into a price imposition. Also, a permitted restriction is the obligation regarding exclusive supply from the franchisor or from suppliers that the franchisor designates," the representative of the Competition Council pointed out.
She specified that the institution is analyzing four cases on franchise agreements, which are not finalized. "We are only talking about a possible violation of the law and the presumption of innocence," explained Badil.
Thus, the Competition Council is analyzing the possible violation of competition laws in the Dabo Doner franchises (sale of fast-food products), Green Care Cosmetics (beauty industry) and two other cases in the distribution market of parts and accessories for motor vehicles, Euro Parts Distribution SRL and Karma Crimpex SRL.
Daniela Badila says that possible impositions of resale prices and/or prohibitions on online promotion and the existence of non-competition clauses in contracts between franchisors and franchisees are analyzed on a case-by-case basis.
In turn, Luca Dragan, managing partner at BaF - Franchise Business Office, stated that there are around 300 franchise networks in Romania.
"In Romania, there are around 300 franchise networks that are developing, but not all of them are active and looking for franchisees. Together, they would have somewhere around 5,000 work points that they operate and around 500,000 to 800,000 employees. These are very rough figures," Luca Dragan emphasized.
He believes that franchising is the most appropriate economic model for the development of a company.
"Franchise, as an economic model and system, is the best way to develop. And I am referring directly to the economically developed countries, in Western Europe, to the European countries that have a long tradition in franchising. There are countries that have developed both trade and industry along with services based on this model. (...) In franchising you cannot succeed only as a franchisor or only as a franchisee, but only together," said the representative of the Franchise Business Office.
Invited to the event, Michel Kahn, president of the Federation of European Franchise and Partnership Networks (IREF), stated that over 3,000 franchises operate in France.
"Today, in France, we have over 3,800 franchises which together have 280,000 affiliated businesses and which represent 1.95 million jobs. Franchise contracts represent 53 billion euros", stated the IREF president.
He gave a long presentation on the evolution of the franchise in the world.
"The franchise was born in France, in Franco-Roman culture, not Anglo-Saxon because they are not exactly the same franchises. What we call a franchise, North Americans call it a 'business model franchise'. What Americans call 'franchising', we call a partnership. (...) The first franchise contract is dated March 4, 1232", Kahn pointed out.
The second edition of the Franchise and Entrepreneurship Forum took place on Thursday at the National Institute of Statistics, the event being organized by Club Antreprenor, CMV Law by Mihaela Mocanu and BaF - Franchise Business Office, with the participation of IREF and the support of the Bucharest Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Romanian franchise market has registered constant growth in recent years, estimated at around 5.8 billion euros in 2024, from over 3.5 million euros in 2019, according to a 2025 specialist analysis conducted by Franchwise, a player in the Romanian franchise consultancy sector.
Franchises are popular in food retail, according to information provided last year. Among them, the most well-known are: Ahold-Delhaize, which owns Mega Image and Profi; LaDoiPasi developed by Metro Romania; 5 to go, etc.
There are also franchises in the field of education, such as Logiscool, Saga Kids or SmartyKids.
In recent years, franchises have moved from fast food and clothes to know-how, tech and smart services.
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