Raising franchise standards in Argentina

Argentina’s franchise story includes an early milestone in Pumper Nic, opened by Alfredo Lowenstein in 1974, which began granting rudimentary franchises in 1975. Other early names included Cheburguer and La Lecherísima. The community gained a national organisation with the founding of the Asociación Argentina de Franquicias in 1988. Its merger with the Cámara de Grandes Marcas 21 years later created today’s Asociación Argentina de Marcas y Franquicias (AAMF), which promotes professionalisation and good commercial practices.

The 2001 crisis prompted several foreign franchises to leave Argentina and helped create space for domestic brands to develop. Today, local brands dominate a market spanning food businesses, specialist retail, services, clothing, health and beauty, and training. Argentina ended 2025 with more than 2,000 franchise brands. Alongside this commercial growth, the introduction of specific franchise provisions in the Civil and Commercial Code in 2015 marked an important step in the development of the country’s contractual framework.