A versatile business concept that can target the impulse buyer and has developed a number of additional income streams, newspaper and magazine vending machine franchise Kiosco24 is looking forward to a maturing international franchise expansion programme in 2005. The brand has seen its operations established through master and area development franchisees in Italy, the Canary Islands and Portugal over the last 18 months, as well as a domestic network of franchisees in Spain reaching 405.

Established in 1996, the Kiosco24 concept was piloted for two years before being launched as a franchise. The idea came from founder Jorge Fernández Amoedo, who's brainwave for the Kiosco24 concept occurred while visiting a friend in hospital. "I wanted to buy something to read just to pass the time, but there was nowhere I could get anything," he explains. "I began thinking about vending machines and, after a period of development, patented the Kiosco24 concept."

Amoedo drove the project forward with his own enthusiasm and still serves as the company's managing director. His passion for the growth of Kiosco24 has driven the company's European expansion ambitions, which has seen it identify its next priority target market as the UK. However, other European markets are also being actively targeted, and the company is open to approaches from potential master franchisees from even further afield. "We will provide all the necessary training and support to enable a master franchisee to develop a sub-franchised network, and really capture a market," Amoedo relates. "The originality of the concept and the lack of competition make this an exciting proposition and, though it takes time for people to change their buying habits, the convenience and reliability of the machines converts many customers quickly."

Franchisees operate by locating and stocking multiple newspaper and magazine vending machines within their own exclusive territories, using the machines' remote management capabilities to plan the most time-efficient stocking routes every day and altering selections and positioning to maximise revenue streams.

"Automated press sales are achieving continuous growth," Amoedo observes. "With time in modern society at a premium, a concept that facilitates convenience and speed is necessary and has a very exciting future. The newsagency industry has been the same for a long time, but now Kiosco24's entrance is instigating big market reforms.

"The newstrade is a traditionally impulse-spend sector. The arrangements of magazines upon news stands is as carefully organised as the layouts of supermarkets - and publishers pay a premium for the best positions. However, news outlets are still destination outlets rather than impulse ones...what Kiosco24 enables franchisees to do is exploit the impulses that drive much of the sector's turnover."

Kiosco24 has developed an additional income stream through advertising panels on the sides of the machines. "We are targeting small companies, restaurants, cinemas, clothing shops, supermarkets, etc., although some larger brands have also taken space," Amoedo explains. "We are assessing each market individually to ascertain the best method for development. We have already achieved success in the Canary Islands, where our area development franchisee has placed 20 machines within a year, and are now supporting our Italian master franchisee to develop a sub-franchised network. This is a hot concept for European markets, and Kiosco24 has the machines and the business concept in place to capitalise upon a growing market segment."