Frequently asked questions

Retail Park AI is a matchmaking platform for franchising. It answers one question: which brand, with which franchisee, in which premises and at which location? It brings together franchisors, franchise candidates, commercial real estate professionals and partners (banks, honour loan networks, lawyers, accountants, consultants), with an analysis of public data to assess a location.

The platform is currently free for every account type: candidates, franchisors, real estate professionals and partners.

The platform is designed for France first. An extension to the European Union is under way, with Belgium (Brussels region) as the pilot. Detailed analysis data is loaded area by area: the "Data sources" page lists the areas covered.

This chatbot answers only from the platform's frequently asked questions. If the answer is not in the FAQ, it says so and suggests related questions. It does not know your personal data or your applications. For a specific question about a file, use the messaging with the franchisor or partner concerned.

The platform publisher's contact details are in the legal notice. To report an inappropriate review, use the "Report" button under the review: the report is sent to the moderation team.

There are four account types: franchise candidate, franchisor (brand), commercial real estate professional and partner. You choose the type right after your first sign-in. Franchisor, real estate and partner accounts declare their company with a SIREN number, which is checked.

Click "Sign in" and choose to create an account on the sign-in page. After your first sign-in, choose your account type (candidate, franchisor, real estate or partner) and fill in the requested information. The same account works on the website and in the mobile app.

On the sign-in page, use the "Forgot password?" link. You will receive an e-mail with a link to choose a new one.

The platform is available in French and English. Before you sign in, it follows the language of your browser or phone (French if it is French, English otherwise). Once signed in, the language is an option of your profile: open "My account", choose the language and click "Save". It applies to the website, the app, e-mails and notifications.

The identity check builds trust between members. You can request it from "My account"; the platform team reviews it and approves or rejects it. Its status is shown in your account.

Notifications appear in the notification centre of the website and the app. In the notification preferences, you choose for each type of event whether to receive an in-app notification and an e-mail. The mobile app can also send notifications to your phone.

Fill in your candidate profile (sectors, personal contribution, search areas, experience), then look at your matches: the platform computes a compatibility score for each franchisor and explains the reasons. You can also browse the franchise catalogue with filters and compare several brands side by side.

The score ranges from 0 to 100. It combines four criteria: your personal contribution compared with the franchisor's minimum (40 points), the match between your search areas and the franchisor's development territories (35 points), the sector (15 points) and experience (10 points). A franchisor is considered compatible from 50 points, unless there is a blocking reason (for example a contribution below 70% of the required minimum). The detail of each criterion is shown.

From a franchisor's page, send a contact request: this creates an application. It then follows the journey steps: contact, discovery, DIP delivery, reflection, validation, financing, premises, signature and opening. You follow the progress, talk with the franchisor through messaging and can set up appointments. You can withdraw your application at any time before signature.

The DIP (pre-contractual information document) is the document the franchisor must give the candidate before the contract is signed (French Doubin law, articles L330-3 and R330-1 of the Commercial Code). In France, at least 20 days must pass between DIP delivery and signature. The platform timestamps the delivery, shows a countdown and prevents moving to the "signature" step before the period ends. For other countries, the rule depends on the application's country.

It is an artificial intelligence feature that summarises the DIP you received: brand presentation, network figures, financial terms (entry fee, royalties, duration), obligations, clauses to review and questions to ask the franchisor. Every point cites the document page so you can check it. It does not replace the advice of a lawyer or accountant. The number of analyses per day is limited.

The financial simulator helps you estimate the financing plan of a franchise project from your own assumptions (investment, contribution, loan, revenue, costs). Signed-in candidates can save their simulations, optionally linked to a franchisor. Results are estimates, not a certified forecast.

Franchisors only see a restricted profile (display name, city, sectors, experience, availability, contribution range): never the exact amount of your contribution, your phone number or your last name. A franchisor sees your full profile only if you contacted it (application not withdrawn).

Only verified franchisees can leave a review: you need an application that reached the "signature" or "opening" step with that franchisor. One review per account and per franchisor, which the author can edit or delete. Reviews go through automatic moderation; some are checked by the team before publication. The franchisor can reply publicly and any user can report a review.

Create a franchisor account and declare your company (SIREN). Fill in the page: name, sector, description, minimum contribution, investment, terms, development territories… The platform shows how complete it is. When the required fields are filled, click "Publish": the page appears in the catalogue. You can unpublish it at any time. A page suspended by moderation can no longer be published by its owner.

The franchisor follows the applications it receives in a recruitment pipeline (from first contact to opening) and moves each application from step to step. It can also look at prospects: candidates compatible with its criteria and territories, shown with a restricted profile. It can adjust its score weightings and uploads the DIP into the application.

Territories show where the franchisor wants to grow and where it already operates. They are shown on a map and used to compute compatibility with candidates' search areas. A franchisor with no development territory is considered to recruit everywhere. The location map also helps spot uncovered areas.

With a real estate professional account, create a listing: commercial premises for rent, or a business transfer (including taking over an existing franchise). Enter the address, area, rent or price and features. The platform computes a compliance sheet and suggests franchisors compatible with the premises.

Published premises and business transfer listings can be viewed by candidates and franchisors, with their location on the map. For each listing, you can run a location analysis (catchment area, score, revenue estimate) and see the compatible franchisors.

The partner directory brings together banks, honour loan networks, lawyers, accountants and consultancies that support franchise projects. A candidate can send them a contact or financing request; the partner answers from its own space.

The financing file gathers your project's information (profile, contribution, financing plan, target franchisor) in a document you can export as PDF or JSON. You can attach it to a financing request sent to a bank or an honour loan network from the directory.

Create a partner account, declare your company (SIREN) and fill in your page: partner type, areas served, services offered. Once published, it appears in the directory and you receive candidates' requests in your space.

For a point or an area, the platform computes the catchment area (reachable in 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes by car, on foot or by bike), a location score from 0 to 100 with its factors and weights (population, purchasing power, competition, accessibility…), a potential revenue range with its assumptions, and the cannibalisation risk with existing outlets. All results are indicative and do not replace a market study.

Analyses use public data: INSEE (SIRENE business register, Filosofi gridded population and income data), municipality boundaries, the French national address database, Eurostat GISCO for other European countries and OpenStreetMap (shops outside France and the road network). The "Data sources" page details the sources, their licences and their update date.

The AI assistant (DIP reading aid and written zone summary) relies either on Anthropic's Claude API or on a model installed on the platform's servers, depending on the configuration. The model computes no figures: it formats the document text or already verified figures, and the platform then checks its citations and numbers. No personal data about candidates is sent to it.

In "My account", you can export your personal data as JSON and delete your account (you must type the confirmation word to confirm). Deletion erases your data in every service of the platform; messages you already sent then appear as coming from a deleted account.

Each service of the platform only keeps the data it needs. Candidate profiles are restricted for franchisors until there is an application, document access is recorded in an audit log, and no personal data is sent to the artificial intelligence. The "Privacy" page details the processing and your rights.

Yes. The mobile app (Android and iOS) offers the same features as the website for every account type, administration included: franchise search, applications, messaging, maps, premises listings, partner requests, phone notifications. You sign in with the same account as on the website.