How to invest in right preschool brand

Out of the main segments in the education industry, preschool shows the fastest growth. If we talk about the size of the preschool industry, the preschool business is expected to touch Rs 13,300 crore by 2015-16, out of which branded preschools are expected to contribute about Rs 4,500 crore. Today parents want to send their child to the best preschool but with certain clauses like it should be near to the house, the child should be safe, there should be proper pick and drop facility and many other miniscule details make the parents decide about choosing the apt school.

On choosing the right preschool in India, Lina Ashar, Founder, Kangaroo Kids Education Ltd says: “A perfect preschool is one that has whole child development curriculum (engaging, interactive, simple), there is personalised attention to the child (teacher child ratio), proper school tour (infrastructure, safety, quality, teachers and a value match between the parent and the preschool is extremely important.  

Amol Arora, Vice chairman and MD, SHEMROCK and SHEMFORD group of schools agrees to the fact that one has to think long term. He comments: “Don’t just think how to make money, instead give your patrons more value for money and money starts chasing you in the long run. Be careful about recruiting franchisees and step ahead with a lot of patience.”

Kidzee has 1500+ centres in 500+ cities and has a high reach pan-India. On the basis of their years of research and observation, as per Kidzee, essentially a parent looks for preschool close to his location, brand name and also safety and security.  Other things that hold high weightage are curriculum - play and learn, quality of teachers, transport - pick up and drop facility available and also infrastructure - spacious, balance of indoor and outdoor space. So, a franchisee/entrepreneur should also make sure that before opening any centre he should take into consideration all these points to run a preschool successfully.

Checklist before you start a preschool

• Know about all the legal procedures involved before starting a preschool in India. There might be certain government rules and regulations that you should know well in advance.

• Know about the necessary skill set required to start a preschool successfully. There should be some traits that make you out of the ordinary from other preschool brands in India.

• Be acquainted with the property prices and decide in advance where you exactly want to start a preschool first.

• Any kind of permissions from the local or state authority to start a preschool in India.

• Plan about making an attractive and up to date website before starting a preschool in India. With the growing tech savvy parent population, most initial enquiries are searched and made online only.

• Do not forget about preschool equipments. Study the market and discover about the best preschool equipment supplier before starting a preschool.

Choose the right preschool

There are many brands claiming to provide excellent infrastructure but actually, they fail to maintain basic hygiene, safety, and security or they do not have ample or eligible staff.  Commenting on the same, Amit Singh, SBU Head, EuroKids says: “Any prospective franchisee should look at three key aspects of a pre-school brand when considering a franchise partnership. These aspects are curriculum and approach, support offered and brand value and lineage.”

Besides all these aspects, advertising is one more aspect which the franchisee should take into account. Most franchisors provide full advertising and marketing support but just in case you wish to do some on your own, do a prior market survey. Know about the right advertising and support agency and also existing preschools in the respective area. According to Vittal Bhandary, Director, Little Elly, Approach, curriculum and program are also very important.

By and large, starting a preschool may involve lot of tricky situations but not if you do your homework well in advance. Be brand aware, be ready to face the challenges when you start a preschool and hit the market with a positive note.