At times, living in Fiji reminds me that we’re still way behind in getting first world goodies, such as fast Internet, Superhighways, IMAX Cinemas, and the most recognizable of them all…big name merchandise. Generally, the sign of progress for most third world countries is seeing exactly how many franchise names they have. The bigger and more well known, the more chances of seeing clues of civilization.

Fiji’s no exception. While I can’t exactly speak for the 70s and 80s period (and library research doesn’t sit well with me…something about those book cases…), I can recall a major franchise to hit Fiji back in the early 90s. They say the quickest way to a man’s heart was through his stomach. The same could be said about impressing the locals with the ways of the infamous fastfood label industry.

Mcdonald’s opening in Nadi didn’t go too well with me, and grumblings from fellow suva mates as to why that ‘town in the west’ got the major upgrade, leaving Suva in dark were shared across the city. But hey, Fiji in general was now a certified First World Poser! Tourists can now come to Fiji, despair at the lack of support for credit cards, cable TV and bums who clean your car windows for money, but then feel almost at home again with the familiar rounded M gleaming in the distance.

You have to love the power of Franchise.

Following the opening of Mcdonalds, other franchises, some albit unknown, made their presence known. It was to be the golden age of business franchise branch opening here in Fiji, and at first, nothing could go wrong. When KFC played their ads on TV, you could close your eyes and imagine yourself watching television in Sydney, auzzie accents and all. When Eagle Boys Pizza announced their home delivery pizza system, it was just like in the movies even. Life was great.

However, all good things must come to an end, albit in this case, with somewhat of a whimper. When Eagle Boys Pizza opened, not in the heart of the main city of Suva, but rather on the outskirts, in a suburb called Valelevu, I was slightly taken back. Somehow, I just couldn’t see a snazzy jazzy pizza parlour such as Eagle Boys Pizza survive in an area that isn’t known for its spending power compared to say, a more upper class region such as Tamavua. My gut told me this was all wrong. The boss for the branch didn’t seem to think so.

“Valelevu has quite a large population,” he said in a tv interview, “There should be no problem operating in an area such as this.”

Last month, without so much as a notice, they closed down. Edit: Apparently the pizza boys closed down a lot earlier then previously mentioned (thanx for the tip Picky Eater (: ), almost 18 months ago infact. Ouch.

And the bigger irony is that the video store beside them, another (auzzie?) franchise was also in dire straits.

Apparently, being Ezy wasn’t enough to keep the franchise afloat. While they too opened with a flurry of activity and branches fiji-wide, slowly but surely, they came under fire from the one form of competition that holds a special place in alot of locals. Piracy. That, and trying to go up against Rowell, who weren’t really pirates per say, but their VCD prices were of pirate quality, with some movies going as low as a dollar. Compare that to Video Ezy’s $4.99 a night rental fee, and you can see why they struggled to hold up against the ever resourceful Rowell.

In Video Ezy’s defense, they were doing Fiji a favour by bringing in movies that most video stores, with the exception of IMDVD, would shy away from, the ones with little or no action, indie flicks etc. Sadly enough, like indie flicks, artistry doesn’t quite mean popular.

Last month Video Ezy had to close down their Lautoka Branch, with their Tamavua and Ellery Street branches already shutdown. While the company director Uday Singh has already written to the relevant authorities on the piracy issue, somehow, something tells me that not much is going to be done about it unless:

(a) Comsol is silly enough to try its hands at distributing rugby matches that were shown on Fiji TV, and attrach police/Fiji TV/media’s attention resulting in a great hullabaloo that’ll resonate for say…oh I don’t know…less then a week before everything reverts back to normal.

(b) Certain pirate movie stalls will be closed down swiftly at a Show/Festival/Gathering by FAVIA, resulting in a great hullabaloo that’ll resonate for say…oh I don’t know…a few days before everything reverts back to normal.

Does this mean that overseas franchises are doomed here in peaceful, coup-happy Fiji? Nonsense! Mcdonalds is alive and well, with its steady supply of teenage obese diet of burgers and coke, and a few blocks away, KFC clucks away merrily, although they seem to be less popular then the magic M. We’ll have to see how this goes.

Is there any other overseas franchise that has opened here in Fiji, and is thriving/failing?

PS: Maya Dabha not taken into account, since they’ve only just opened…and Rizwan doesn’t take too lightly to their lack of door opening attendees, dry roti, oily rice and orange/red chicken ;P