Another preschool chain Shemrock Schools—which was the school the Bhasins of Bangalore found for Mahika—has 85 branches, with 8,000 students. Kangaroo Kids Inc., established in 1993, has more than 55 centres across 15 cities and one international centre in Dubai. Preschool chain Kidzee, an arm of Zee Interactive Learning Systems Ltd, has more than 600 centres across India.
The preschool chains remain on the lookout for new franchisees and the basic requirements include a minimum of 2,000 sq. ft (owned or rented), and an investment of above Rs4 lakh, which also dependent on location.
Eurokids managing director Uday Mathur says the company prefers women, ideally with a teaching background, as their operating person for the franchise. The companies say franchise costs vary; for a second-tier city, for example, it’s Rs3-7 lakh, while for cities, Rs7-8 lakh. But a playschool in south Delhi, downtown Mumbai or upmarket Indiranagar in Bangalore requires an investment of more than Rs16 lakh.
Like the businesses behind them, the schools are not all play. Actual curricula includes singing, listening to stories, drama, plays, dances, group projects and outdoor games— the ultimate goal to learn through play, not pressure.
Fees differ depending on location, and can vary from Rs8,000 to Rs35,000 a year.
“We generally take a royalty of 15% from our franchise. The royalty is on the total fee generated by the school in a year,” says Amol Arora, managing director of New Delhi-based Shemrock.
Franchise owners go through a training programme that can vary from a day to a week. They also receive a set of manuals which indicate the equipment and furniture they have to buy to provide similar ambience at all centres. Some school chains also provide toys and books to the franchisees. An ideal teacher-child ratio is 1:8, but its differs from school to school.
Aware of a more migratory middle class, all preschool chains allow both long and short transfers between centres. Some schools also operate creches, targeting double-income parents, but that seems to be the exception for the time being because they require more full-time staff, even as the margins are lower.
Parents say a right preschool can bring out positive changes in a kids’ personality. “My daughter used to cling to me before I enrolled her in a preschool. However, now with her attention being divided on other people and new things, she has become much more relaxed and self-reliant,” says Debashree Basu of Bangalore, whose daughter Zoe is nearly three years old.
The franchisees say it is not easy to attract parents at the initial stage, but once the brand is established, it becomes easier. Many parents mistakenly think a certain playschool will guarantee them admission to a formal school when the child has to move on, but principals say that is all but impossible.
“We do not have any formal tie-up with any school. However, with our reputation and the belief that a child is ‘ready’ for schooling as he was with us, a few schools are giving preference to our students,” says Eurokids’ Mathur.
Preschool chain owners say large- and medium-sized cities are also gradually opening to them. But they caution that rising real estate prices and parents’ expectations of a sea change in their child’s attitude overnight do act as a hindrance.