The study concentrates on exploring international clothing franchise and particularly international clothing franchise in Finland. The main objective of the research is to discover obstacles Finnish franchisees encounter when bringing an international fashion franchise to Finland and recommendations that are beneficial to their success. The thesis is inclined to exploit aspects concerning franchisees’ perspectives.

In the literature review, main concepts presented are franchising, franchisor, franchisee; international clothing franchise; types of franchise system and franchise agreement; pros and cons of opening an international franchise; and steps of purchasing an international franchise.

The empirical part features a case study – Zara Finland as a successful international fashion franchise in Finland, under the management of the franchisee Stockmann and franchisor Inditex Group. For collecting data, qualitative methods including documentation study and two electronic interviews are utilized. Eventually, findings from both interviews were analysed and evaluated, and the research questions were answered.

In summary, main obstacles for franchisees in Finland are small market, high investments including high rent, high salary, high cost of logistics, lack of good locations, finding suitable franchisors. In order to survive, they should have a good market research, good financing, calculation of costs and returns well-negotiated agreements, and professional helps.