franchise opportunities for the experienced

Transcription

EMERGING FRANCHISE BRANDS to complement your existing portfolio
SPRING/SUMMER 2016
THE
HISING
C
N
A
R
F
RY FOR
O
T
C
E
DIR
2016
FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE EXPERIENCED BUSINESS OWNER
www.franchisetimes.com
©2016 Firehouse Subs
#1 Fast Casual Brand
#1 Choice of Millennials
#1 Food Quality
#1 Kitchen Area Cleanliness
#1 Supports Local Community Activities
#1 Pleasant Friendly Service
(Source Technomic Inc.)
To own a franchise, visit FirehouseSubs.com/Franchising or call 877.887.8330.
A S T R AT E G I C I N I T I AT I V E O F T H E I N T E R N AT I O N A L F R A N C H I S E A S S O C I AT I O N
S I N C E 19 9 1
F
ranchising is big business—really big. According to the
International Franchise Association’s latest figures,
franchising comprises 3 percent of the U.S. gross
domestic product, adding $29 billion in GDP to the country’s
economy. Since you’re reading this guide, you’re either looking
to get into this lucrative industry for the first time or add
another concept to your existing franchise portfolio. We can
help.
In this refreshed third edition of our Book of Brands, we
have content on how multi-unit franchisees have built their
businesses, exclusive data on the fastest-growing sectors
within franchising, how to take advantage of distressed real
estate in your territory, how to claim valuable tax breaks to
ease the cost of remodeling projects and a roundup of new
concepts hitting the franchise scene. There are also franchise
advertorials where you can hear pitches directly from the
companies that are looking to attract new franchisees to their
systems. It’s a lot to cram into these 60 colorful pages.
Beyond what you see in this season’s Book of Brands,
Franchise Times has many resources online, in print and in
person to present the information and make the personal
connections you need to become a successful, upwardly
mobile multi-unit franchisee.
Within the pages of Franchise Times (and online at
franchisetimes.com), our staff of seasoned editors and
industry experts chronicle the strategies and personalities
that are conquering franchising and growing the American
economy.
You’ll also see references to two of our other special annual
projects, the Franchies Times Restaurant 200 and Franchise
Times Top 200+. For restaurant operators, suppliers and
financiers, the Restaurant 200 includes interviews with
leaders of some of the fastest-growing brands, as well as a
listing of the largest restaurant franchisees led by the $1.5
billion Flynn Restaurant Group. Our Top 200+ is an annual
listing of the largest franchise brands in all categories, ranked
by worldwide sales. Both are a comprehensive who’s who in
the world of sophisticated franchising.
Readers and operators who attend our two industry
conferences—the Franchise Times Finance & Growth
Conference in the spring and the Restaurant Finance &
Development Conference in the fall—get rare insider access
to connect promising brands with large-scale investors that
can make your dreams a reality.
With a sharper look, more in-depth industry analysis
and more content from our team of franchise experts, the
Franchise Times Book of Brands was created to help you avoid
wasting time and money in your company’s quest to unlock the
power of franchising.
Don’t hesitate to contact me directly
with any questions, suggestions or
ideas for our upcoming fall edition.
Good luck and happy learning!
Tom Kaiser
Assistant Editor
Tom can be reached at 612-767-3209
or at [email protected].
Follow him on Twitter at @thomasrkaiser.
CONTACT/BOOK OF BRANDS STAFF INFORMATION
PRESIDENT
John Hamburger
PUBLISHER/VICE PRESIDENT
Mary Jo Larson
[email protected]
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Tom Kaiser
[email protected]
NATIONAL SALES DIRECTOR
Kevin Pietsch
Book of Brands Associate Publisher
[email protected]
www.Franchisetimes.com
EDITOR IN-CHIEF
Beth Ewen
[email protected]
GRAPHIC DESIGN (Book of Brands)
Steve Hamburger
[email protected]
WEBMASTER
Jenny Raines
[email protected]
CONTACT FRANCHISE TIMES
Franchise Times Corporation
2808 Anthony Lane South
Minneapolis, MN 55418
(612) 767-3200 (phone)
(612) 767-3230 (FAX)
[email protected]
ADVERTISING/CLASSIFIEDS:
(Call (612) 767-3200
PRODUCTION MANAGER
Abbi Nawrocki
[email protected]
SPECIAL FR ANCHISE TIMES ® SUPPLEMENT
3
TABLE
SPRING/SUMMER 2016
CONTENTS
A Letter From the Editor 3
FRANCHISE ADVERTORIALS
Firehouse Subs
Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches
Express Employment Professionals
Tide
Bar Louie
2
5
6
7
60
FRANCHISE ARTICLES
Advice from Multi-unit Franchisees
It’s What You Don’t Know That’s Key
Largest Franchise Brands Stumble
Conquering Distressed Real Estate
New Concepts in Franchising
Cheap Oil Ripples Through the Oil Patch
New Remodeling Tax Breaks
Fits & Starts in the Franchise Food Chain
8
11
12
14
16
19
20
22
FRANCHISE LISTINGS
24
The Franchise Times Guide to Selecting, Buying,
and Owning a Franchise
43
FRANCHISE INDEX
57
EMERGING FRANCHISE BRANDS to complement your existing portfolio
SPRING/SUMMER 2016
THE
ISING
FRANCH Y FOR
OR
DIRECT
2016
FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE EXPERIENCED BUSINESS OWNER
My
NUMBERS
$1,367,810*
AVERAGE GROSS SALES
Rock!
25.78%*
AVERAGE FOOD AND
PAPER COSTS
$270,355*
AVERAGE NET PROFIT
FROM OPERATIONS (IN $)
800.546.6904 ★ OWNAJIMMYJOHNS.COM
*Figures reflect averages for fifteen (15) affiliate-owned restaurants that opened before January 1, 2010 as published in Item 19 of our April 2015 Franchise Disclosure Document. These averages are based on a 52-week annual period from January 1, 2014 through December 30, 2014. Of
these fifteen (15) restaurants, 9 (60%) had higher gross sales, 6 (40%) had higher food and paper costs and 6 (40%) had higher net profit percentage during the reported period. The financial performance representation contained in Item 19 of our April 2015 Franchise Disclosure
Document also includes (1) average system–wide gross sales, average franchise gross sales, and the number and percentage of restaurants exceeding these averages during the referenced period and (2) average gross sales, average food and paper cost, and average net profit
percentage information during the referenced period for nine (9) affiliate-owned restaurants that were opened after January 1, 2010 and before January 1, 2014.
A new franchisee’s results may differ from the represented performance. There is no assurance that you will do as well and you must accept that risk. This offering is made by prospectus only.
©2015 JIMMY JOHN’S FRANCHISE, LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITIES
AVAILABLE NATIONWIDE!
As a Tide Dry Cleaners franchisee,
you will have:
Ask about
our new
Development
Incentive,
which may provide
$30k/unit
in savings.
• Ground floor opportunity with a growing brand
• More than 65 years of fabric care knowledge &
experience
• Best practices shared amongst an impressive
group of franchisees
• Instant brand recognition and consumer trust
• Comprehensive training and support from Agile
Pursuits Franchising, Inc., a P&G company
OPPORTUNITIES ARE LIMITED.
Proudly using
Please email [email protected]
or visit TideDryCleaners.com/Franchising.
Agile Pursuits Franchising, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Procter & Gamble
41239 TDC_FranchiseTimes_7-625x5_FA.indd 1
3/7/16 3:35 PM
Seize the Search
44,948 91,462
• FranchiseTimes.com received 44,948 unique
visitors in February 2016, with 91,462 page
views
• The Franchise Times e-newsletter is sent to
more than 17,000 recipients 3-times per
month
• More than 55,000 copies of the Book of Brands
will be distributed throughout 2016 - and all
listings are on FranchiseTimes.com
• Franchise Times magazine is mailed to more
than 25,000 subscribers each month
For information on how your brand can capitalize on this exposure, contact Kevin Pietsch at
[email protected] or 612-767-3206
7
ALL-STAR OPERATORS SHARE THEIR ADVICE
Becoming more than a one-, two- or three-unit franchisee is no easy task
BY TOM KAISER
H
ow far from home can you
wander? Where can you turn for
advice? How do you research new
brands you’re considering? Answering
these questions is just the tip of the
iceberg in a long, multi-year process of
becoming a large-scale franchisee.
Stakes are high for owners or investors
in large multi-unit franchise operations,
but so are the rewards. According to the
Franchise Times Top 200+ ranking of the
largest franchise systems, the top 200
franchises increased their worldwide
sales to $595.5 billion in 2014, which
is an increase of 2.1 percent over the
previous year. They added 15,820 units
during that time, a 3.3 percent gain
from the previous year.
We spoke with some of the biggest,
most successful multi-unit franchisees
around—including members of the
annual Franchise Times Restaurant 200
list—to get their advice on growing a
larger franchise operation. As a bonus,
we asked them what to expect with
the volatile economy during the rest of
2016.
Tom Garrett of Atlanta-based GPS
Hospitality (No. 112 on Restaurant
200) is one of the largest Burger
King franchisees in the country, and
his company is on a hot streak after
successive upward revisions to its
growth plan reflecting advances and
store purchases that keep unfolding
faster than expected.
Are you feeling bullish or bearlike about the coming 12 months in
franchising?
Garrett said QSR traffic has been
a “zero-sum game for some time.”
Because of that, he said growth has to
come at someone else’s expense. Even
so, he’s expecting a good year under the
BK umbrella, with additional expansion
underway.
“I’m not necessarily concerned
somebody’s going to take a bite out
8
Tom Garrett
Guillermo Perales
of us,” he said. “It’s competitive, but I
think our performance and gain gets
even better in ‘16.”
Dallas-based Sun Holdings (No. 9
on Restaurant 200) is another of the
largest Burger King franchisees, along
with having a large number of Popeyes
and Arby’s, and CEO Guillermo Perales
said 2015 was one of the company’s
most active years to date.
What advice would you give smaller
franchisees looking to grow?
Sharing his advice for smaller
franchisees, he suggested developing
a specific strategy and building from
there, rather than getting overly excited
about a certain brand.
“Make sure you start with a strategy,
not a brand, and use your skills and
capability to inform your strategy,”
Garrett said. “If you do that, you’ll get
started in the right direction.”
What’s your philosophy for putting
together a complementary portfolio of
brands?
“It goes back to what is your strategy,”
Garrett said. “For us, we want to invest in
brands that have great brand awareness,
but we also like opportunities where the
operational ability of the brand is lower
than the brand awareness, and there
could be operational or development
opportunities.”
BOOK OF BR ANDS - SPRING/SUMMER 2016
franchising?
Perales sees elevated consumer
confidence
improving
business
conditions,
even
as
increased
competition adds another degree of
complexity.
“Lower gas prices have helped the
confidence of consumers, so they’re out
spending more even though in some
segments the competition is getting
stiffer,” he said. “This year we have
seen double-digit growth in most of my
brands, so it has been a very good year.”
For smaller multi-unit operators, he
recommends taking calculated risks to
break out from the herd and become a
large-scale franchisee.
“You’ll never grow without taking
risks, because as things get more
expensive, if you’re not making the
next step you’ll never get anywhere,”
he said. “I know a lot of operators
are finding reasons to grow or not to
grow—if you want to grow, you really
have to diversify and be aggressive by
buying and developing.”
What’s your philosophy for putting
together a complementary portfolio
of brands?
“Always try to get the best in class
of the segment,” Perales said. “You
cannot have competitors within your
company.”
His own experience investing
in Popeyes, even with such a big
competitor in KFC, shows that flavor,
quality and ambiance are enough to
overcome strong opposition in the
same category and geographic area.
Aslam Khan of Westlake, Texasbased Falcon Holdings (No. 36 on
Restaurant 200) runs a large portfolio
of restaurants including Church’s
Chicken, Long John Silver’s, Hardee’s
and A&W Restaurants. He first entered
Aslam Khan
Aziz Hashim
franchising by purchasing nearly 100
Church’s locations back in 1999.
franchising?
With a stake in several different
protein groups, he said he’s feeling
bullish, particularly because of recent
relief in commodity prices. Government
interference, he added, has been the
counterweight to protein price relief.
“As far as our commodity prices are
concerned, we’re going to benefit this
year, because chicken is at an alltime low—there’s an abundance of
supply,” Khan said. “The government
stuff is causing problems, the wages
are causing problems, so it will eat up
all of the benefit of commodities and
more.”
His advice to ambitious, smaller
operators is simple: focus on getting
the perfect site locations to avoid
significant losses.
“Building a brand costs a lot of
money, so they have to be very careful
of the selection of locations,” Khan
said. “It could go south and they could
lose money—and small operators
cannot bear million-dollar losses.”
What is a red flag that would cause
you to walk away from a deal?
“The management on the top,” he
said. “They can take you down with
them, so the management of the
franchisor is very important.” To vet
potential franchisor partners, Khan
recommends checking their references
with current and former franchisees,
as well as online searching that can
provide a treasure of information, both
good and bad.
One of the best-known names
in franchising, Aziz Hashim is the
president and CEO of Atlanta-based
National Restaurant Development
Group, which owns several Popeyes,
Checkers and Pet Valu locations, as
well as managing partner of NRD
Capital, a fund that acquires equity
within franchise concepts. He’s also the
new chair of the International Franchise
Association.
franchising?
“It’s a combination of both,” Hashim
said. “Franchise businesses usually
remain well positioned to withstand
economic fluctuations. Having said
that, not all brands are created equally.
All-Star Operators | page 10
9
All-Star Operators | from page 9
I would be bearish for brands that don’t
have solid unit economics, because
those brands are the ones that are
exposed when the economy falters.”
multi-unit operators looking to grow?
“Growth comes at a cost and ... if
you want to add another unit, you have
to first borrow money or invest money
to build the unit before you see any
revenues or profits,” he said. “You have
to invest money in infrastructure, you
have to have a personality that allows
you to delegate responsibility, a frame
of mind that lets you absorb errors
made by others on your behalf.”
Franchisees seeking growth should
think twice, because adding support
infrastructure required by expansion
can fully negate any revenue gained by
adding new units or brands.
What’s your philosophy on putting
together a complementary portfolio of
brands?
“There are a number of metrics
that need to be observed when adding
complementary brands, and one of
them is whether the additional brands
line up from an infrastructure point of
view,” Hashim said. “If you have a brand
that has an average unit volume of
Consider this:
Today, the average franchisee on the Restaurant
200 has 109 locations and $143.5 million in revenue. Both numbers are
about 30 percent higher than they were in 2009. The big are getting bigger.
F or more insight on the largest multi-unit operators, including trends
impacting the franchised restaurant world, check out this year’s
Franchise Times Restaurant 200 coverage
at www.franchisetimes.com/Resources/
Restaurant-200/.
Real-World Experience
for Real-World Solutions
The nation’s leading franchise consulting firm for both start-up and established franchisors.
The nation’s leading franchise sales outsourcing firm.
And now TopFire Media can provide franchisors with an integrated solution to their digital
marketing needs — including Inbound Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, SEO/SEM,
and Video.
Of course, everyone says they are the best.
The difference?
We have the credentials to prove it:
 Over 50 consultants, marketing, and franchise sales professionals
$1.5 million per unit and then you add
a brand that has an AUV of $600,000,
sometimes that can cause problems
because your company’s infrastructure
is set up to provide a level of service ...
and now you want to provide the same
service to your $600,000 store but you
cannot because that store cannot pay
you as much.”
 Former C-Level executives from over 20 different franchisors
 Over 900 years of combined franchise experience
 Experience with 98 out of the top 200 franchise brands
 Track record of franchise sales success — over 10,000 during our careers
 Intelligence: we have tracked over 200,000 franchise sales leads in the last three
years alone
 Franchise Dynamics sold over 500 franchises in 2013, 2014, and 2015
 Third-Party vendor program for preferred pricing
The Monitor
Published monthly, the Restaurant
Finance Monitor provides readers with
an in-depth analysis of the restaurantfinancing marketplace. It’s the most
complete understanding of the financing
markets available anywhere in the
restaurant industry.
We know what works in the real world. Whether you are a start-up or an
established franchisor, call us to learn how we can put our experience to
work for you.
®
www.restfinance.com
®
Franchise consultants
www.ifranchisegroup.com
708-957-2300
www.franchisedynamics.net
708-798-1800
www.topfiremedia.com
708-249-1090
Visit us at ifranchisegroup.com/franchise-your-business-book to request a free excerpt from
Mark Siebert’s new book, Franchise Your Business — or order your own copy of the complete book!
10
IT’S WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW THAT’S KEY
Expert shares advice to avoid making your own rookie mistakes in franchising
BY NANCY WEINGARTNER
T
he problem for franchisees is not
that sometimes they can’t see
the forest for the trees—but that
they have to see every tree, plus the
forest, all at the same time. “Everything
is important,” says Bill Robison of
MileStone Management. “Surround
yourself with the smartest people, give
them directions and then trust them to
do it.”
Good advice, but sometimes easier
said than done. If you think only firsttime franchisees struggle with the
details, you’ll be surprised to find out
how many multi-unit deals run into
unforeseen hurdles. Because opening
the first unit is a steep learning curve,
franchisees with multi-unit development
deals often get the first unit open, and
then find themselves too tired, broke or
emotionally tapped out to turn around
and do it all over again.
“You can’t use all your bullets in your
gun for the first unit, because you need
them for battles with your future units,”
says Carolyn Miller, founder of the
National Franchise Institute in Denver.
Miller, who started her career helping
McDonald’s retrofit units in Walmart
locations, says almost everyone she
comes in contact with these days tells
her they wished they’d known then
what she’s telling them now. Hearing
that sentiment over and over is why she
started the Institute in January 2015.
Miller’s development experience is from
both sides, from large corporations such
as McDonald’s and Chipotle, where she
did both retrofits and new builds, and
also working for multi-unit franchisees
and for an architect firm. She moved
to Denver after McDonald’s invested in
Chipotle to help open the quick-service
Mexican chain’s corporate units.
“The franchise model is brilliant,”
she told attendees at the Institute’s
class titled, Essential Competencies for
Building Brick & Mortar Locations, last
January. “Its success across countless
industries leaves many people in awe
of just what is possible with a proven
Carolyn Miller started the National Franchise Institute to help new and existing
franchisees avoid costly mistakes when they build units.
business model.” They begin to believe
franchising is easy. But success isn’t
guaranteed, she stresses.
Robison is one of several experts
she brings into the classroom to
tell attendees the nuts and bolts of
franchising development, an important
aspect of building a franchise, because
sometimes the nuts and bolts are hidden
under what’s framing the franchise.
One thing she said surprises her
when working with franchisees is that
they sometimes have no idea they
are making mistakes. “Franchisors
teach operations,” she said. “We teach
development.”
Some of the advice is general, such
as: Hire a franchise attorney, not a
business lawyer, and certainly not your
cousin who practices family law. But
Miller expanded that caution to include
architects and accountants. If you’re
building out a restaurant space, you
want an architect who has experience
designing restaurants. The same is true
of accountants, she says. Accounting
rules for franchising differ from general
business, she pointed out.
Other information is detailed, such as
how to do site selection using economic
gardening, concentric circles and
demographic plotting.
Experts also addressed common
naivete, such as buying a pizza concept
because you love the pizza, not the
economic model, or selecting a location
because it’s near your home or on the
way to the babysitter’s house. “It’s
convenient to have your business next
to your home, because when you go out
of business you don’t have to carry your
stuff as far,” instructor Wayne Kocina
of GeoWize quipped. You should never
allow a lender to think you’re buying a
job, he cautioned.
A common thread is: For every dollar
you spend on the front end, you save $10
on the back end.
“Carry a sense of urgency, so you
can bury a sense of emergency,” said
Robison.
Follow a timeline; surround yourself
with experts; think of yourself as the
coach, not the quarterback; attract
financing before you sign a franchise
agreement and find out what you don’t
know before you need to know it.
See how easy franchising can be?
SPECIAL FR ANCHISE TIMES ® SUPPLEMENT 11
LARGEST FRANCHISE BRANDS STUMBLE
While many franchise chains are
experiencing exceptional growth,
some of the biggest franchised brands
saw their sales dip for the first time in
years.
BY TOM KAISER
W
ith sales up a measly
2.1 percent, which is the
slimmest increase in years,
some of the largest franchise chains
experienced a rare decline in yearover-year sales—namely McDonald’s
and Subway, according to the
Franchise Times Top 200+, published
in October 2015. At the same time,
smaller brands soared as the overall
franchise industry experiences a
growth spurt fueled by the country’s
sustained economic growth, continued
international expansion and renewed
interest in franchising from private
equity firms and Wall Street.
The top 200 franchises increased
their worldwide sales to $595.9 billion
in 2014, up 2.1 percent. They added
15,820 units, for 496,217 worldwide
units total, a 3.3 percent bump from
the prior year.
Comparing the top 200’s 2.1 percent
sales increase to previous years, that
number was 2.9 percent in 2013,
5.6 percent in 2012 and a roaring
8.8 percent in 2011. The top 200
increased unit counts by 3.3 percent in
2014, compared with 3.4, 3.9 and 4.3
percent, respectively, in the previous
three years.
This is the second year in a row the
top 10’s sales increase lagged the
top 200’s performance. In 2014 that
number was 0.6 percent, compared
with 0.5 percent in 2013, 5.8 percent
in 2012, and an excellent 13.2 percent
in 2011.
With no change in the ranking of
the five largest franchises—in order,
McDonald’s, 7-Eleven, KFC, Subway
and Burger King—both McDonald’s
and Subway have broken their
timeworn winning streaks.
Amid high-profile struggles to
compete with fast-casual and better
burger rising stars, McDonald’s shed
$1.34 billion in sales compared with
2013, while adding 829 (2.3 percent)
new units. Subway lost more than
twice that, as a percentage (3.2),
shaving $600 million from its annual
sales, creaking under the weight of
its scale with similar competitive
pressures. It increased its store count
by 2 percent, adding 858 new units
worldwide in 2014.
On sales slighter higher than $17
billion (19.4 percent of McDonald’s
annual take), Burger King led the top
five by adding $716 million in global
sales and 705 new units, down 30
in the U.S. and Canada, and up 735
abroad.
Top 10 Sales Growth ($M)
12
Burger King
Keller Williams
Realty
725*
716
677
650*
650*
537*
Hilton Hotels
& Resorts
Marriott Hotels
& Resorts
900
RE/MAX
Domino’s
1,000
Holiday Inn
Express
Chick-fil-A
1,262
Hyatt
Ace Hardware
Ace Hardware and Chick-fil-A lead the pack of the 10 biggest growers in
worldwide sales, with $1.26 billion and $1 billion increases, respectively. No. 10
Hilton Hotels, at $500 million, posted an impressive revenue gain, along with
three more hotel chains that made the list.
500*
Top 20 Franchise Chains by Worldwide Sales
Franchise Concept
Global
Sales
($M)
US
Units
Intl
Units
Total
Units
%
Franchised
Sales
Growth
%
Unit
Growth
%
1
McDonald’s
87,786
14,344
21,914
36,258
81%
-1.5%
2.3%
2
2
7-Eleven
84,500*
7,836
47,965
55,801
77%
0.0%
3.6%
3
3
KFC
23,400*
4,391
15,029
19,420
73%
1.7%
2.9%
4
4
Subway
18,200
26,958
16,196
43,154
100%
-3.2%
2.0%
5
5
Burger King
17,017
7,126
7,246
14,372
100%
4.4%
5.2%
6
7
Ace Hardware
14,299
4,251
543
4,794
98%
9.7%
-0.7%
7
6
Hertz
14,200*
5,760
5,470
11,230
36%
2.2%
-2.8%
8
9
Pizza Hut
12,200*
7,908
7,697
15,605
85%
1.7%
4.3%
9
11
Marriott Hotels & Resorts
9,600*
347
231
578
41%
8.2%
3.4%
10
10
Wendy’s
9,300*
5,750
765
6,515
85%
-1.1%
-0.6%
11
12
RE/MAX
9,116*
3,473
3,299
6,772
100%
6.3%
4.5%
12
14
Domino's
8,900
5,067
6,562
11,629
97%
11.3%
6.8%
13
15
Hilton Hotels & Resorts
8,900*
239
321
560
41%
6.0%
1.1%
14
13
Taco Bell
8,500
5,950
248
6,198
85%
4.9%
3.0%
15
16
Dunkin’ Donuts
7,877
8,082
3,228
11,310
100%
6.4%
4.2%
16
8
Circle K
7,038
3,766
4,690
8,456
62%
-1.1%
2.6%
17
19
Hyatt
6,900*
420
134
554
45%
10.4%
6.3%
18
18
Tim Hortons
6,611
873
3,798
4,671
100%
0.2%
4.1%
19
24
Chick-Fil-A
6,000
1,885
0
1,885
100%
20.0%
6.2%
20
20
Holiday Inn Hotels & Resorts
5,950*
770
442
1,212
84%
3.9%
-0.3%
2015
Rank
2014
Rank
1
Worldwide sales are in millions. * Franchise Times Estimate
HOW TO CONQUER DISTRESSED REAL ESTATE
Competition for prime sites has
increased as a rush of new brands
meets a relative lack of freshly
constructed retail space.
BY NICHOLAS UPTON
A
s many operators know, the
real estate market is extremely
competitive right now and prices
are as high as ever. But as this growth
cycle comes to an end, distressed
leases are set to become a boon and a
bane for business owners.
The average business growth and
contraction cycle runs about five years;
the current cycle just passed the sixyear mark. Economists, analysts and
anyone watching the stock market are
already seeing some cracks, but nobody
can tell just when this cycle will run out
of borrowed time. When time does run
out, one of the most damning things will
be an unaffordable lease.
“The single most important factor
that determined whether a restaurant
could survive or not was the rent,” said
Jim Haslem, an adviser with Huntley,
Mullaney, Spargo & Sullivan that
specializes in real estate negotiations.
He said too many operators focus
only on selling food, the day-to-day
operations and overlook their lease.
“It wasn’t the menu, it wasn’t the
location, it wasn’t the folks working in
the restaurant in the location, it was
the rent,” said Haslem. “If the rent was
just a little too high there is a very high
risk of failure, more than a 50 percent
chance.”
Bringing the success of a business
down to a coin flip is obviously bad
business, but the arcane world of
commercial leases isn’t the first thing
even sophisticated operators are
familiar with.
So what does a distressed lease look
like? It depends on the type of business,
but typically when rent as a percentage
of sales reaches the double digits, it’s
time to take a closer look at the lease.
“There’s a range there. If you’re at 6
percent that’s generally a very healthy
14
percentage. If you’re below 8 percent,
you’re probably OK. Once you get 8
to 10 percent, you’re giving away a
significantly higher percentage of your
sales,” said Haslem. “And if you’re over
10 percent, it’s something that you’ll
have to negotiate.”
Gary Chou, the director of the
restaurant division at Matthews Retail
Advisors, agreed. “When we start seeing
10 percent, we start asking questions,”
said Chou. “I’ve seen deals where it’s 20
percent of the sale ratio and there’s no
way they’re making money.”
But for any operators doing the math,
some concepts can absorb higher rents
if other margins are good. In fine dining,
for example, high-dollar dinners and
great beverage margins can absorb
higher rent percentages, as can large
portfolios.
“I’ve seen brands with 12 to 13 percent
rents, where from a normal perspective
it would seem pretty challenging. But
they have their economies of scale, they
have 1,000 locations and the ones over
here are doing fine, and these others
are not doing great, but it all evens out,”
said Haslem.
One metric can illuminate just how
much an expensive lease is eating into
profits.
“If you put the rent in the numerator
and the EBITDAR in the denominator,
you then see what percentage of profits
go to the landlord in the form of rent,”
said Haslem. “I love this metric. You’ll
find many, many restaurants are
shocked when they’re paying more than
50 percent of their profit to the landlord.
What that means is they’re in business
to pay rent to the landlord.” (EBITDAR
means earnings before interest, taxes,
depreciation, amortization and rent.)
Even in a historically high-priced real
estate environment like many operators
are working with today, it’s still possible
to get a manageable lease.
Business
owners
can
protect
themselves from a bad lease by
negotiating tough up front. Bringing
various rent scenarios to a landlord
will show them how a high-dollar lease
doesn’t make sense. Those scenarios
will keep operators from getting caught
up in the hype of a great location as
well.
One big thing to remember is market
rent isn’t necessarily the right rent.
“Market rent doesn’t mean that the
restaurant is paying the right rent for
that restaurant. A restaurant may need
a below market rent to survive,” said
Haslem. “If you’re signing a lease at
the top of the market—and I think we’re
there—if you lock in that lease for the
next 5 to 10 years, 18 months from now
you may wish you had not signed that
lease because rents will come down.”
Regardless of signing an attractive
lease, macroeconomic factors, regional
economies and changing tastes can put
a restaurant in distress. But it doesn’t
have to be a long journey to a failed
location.
The first thing to do is figure out if the
location will ever be profitable. “Is this a
temporary problem or has it been this
way. If it’s never going to be profitable,
let’s figure out a long-term solution,”
said Jason Keen, and adviser at Verdad
Real Estate.
If it could be a profitable location,
then sometimes all it takes is a meeting
with the landlord. “I’ve seen plenty of
franchisees go to their landlords and
ask for a rent reduction,” said Chou.
“That’s the first and foremost approach
to getting healthier.”
Many
private
landlords
and
experienced restaurant landlord groups
are going to be the easiest to work with.
Institutional landlords, REITs, insurance
companies and other very large groups
can be more stubborn. Skeptical
landlords and institutional landlords
may still work with a tenant, but it means
showing them exactly how both parties
are benefiting. That’s what Haslem calls
fact-based negotiating.
“You’ve got to work through the
barriers or skepticism and get back to
a fact-based negotiation,” said Haslem.
“Many times the client will be willing to
show the financials to the landlord.”
Laying out various metrics like rent
efficiency and the landlord’s share of the
rent show due diligence in negotiations,
not greed. And a good landlord will
realize that fact, even bigger institutional
owners. After all, if the restaurant fails,
the landlord also loses its share of the
passive investment. But not all landlords
will play ball, so operators need to find
wins where they can.
“We like to negotiate a portfolio of
leases because you’re not going to win
every negotiation—you’re not,” said
Haslem. “But if you win some of them,
you may win enough to move the dial
where you’re saving enough money
on a portfolio basis that you’re able to
manage the business.”
If a location still isn’t going to be
profitable and negotiations didn’t push
the needle far enough, it’s time to get
out of the lease. Simply going dark is the
last resort, and will likely open up some
legal exposure and make for some bad
blood. Talking to a landlord and finding a
subtenant is better, but buying out of the
lease is a win-win for tenants and most
landlords.
“If someone decides to close and you
have a 20-year lease and it’s 10 years in,
there’s value to just buying out early,”
said Chou. “Sometimes from a landlord
perspective, if the landlord is pretty
decent, it’s a good deal because they can
put someone better in.”
“You get a lot of benefit from
site work and infrastructure.
There’s a lot of money to be
saved if you can find distressed
properties,” said Keen.
Nobody wants to spend time in court
and spend a lot on lawyer fees, so
logical landlords will likely restructure a
contract or allow a buyout if it’s simply
time to go.
And once the lease is terminated, it’s
back on the market. Savvy business
owners can take advantage of those
distressed leases. Chris Rondeau, CEO
at Planet Fitness, found himself in a
great situation when the various big box
retailers started shutting down during
the recession.
“Pre-2009 when the crash happened,
real estate was difficult for us,” said
Rondeau, listing the various caveats
landlords had. “Health clubs are always
kind of looked down upon, they don’t stay
in business and they clog the parking
lot.”
He said the recession and Internet
disruption handed him the keys to
some great locations, and had landlords
coming to him. “Today with the
ecommerce pressure on retail, people
don’t need those big boxes and they’re
looking at us to fill the parking lot,”
said Rondeau. “It’s a much different
converstation with landlords today
because we drive traffic on the off days—
we’re the perfect scenario for people to
come into that plaza.”
Rondeau
typically
looks
for
20,000-square-foot
locations,
and
instead of looking for B or C locations,
they can now swoop into the Main and
Main spots left vacant by large-footprint
retailers. He’s getting a lot more tenant
improvement capital and a longer period
of free rent to keep the people coming.
And because it’s less cash out of pocket,
Planet Fitness franchisees are able to
grow faster.
“It’s less cash out of pocket so they can
do two in a year instead of just one,” said
Rondeau.
Not all businesses have that kind of
luck, and have to be careful about those
distressed lease situations and what
a failed tenant might mean for a new
business. Operators should do extra due
diligence, make sure that it’s a decent
location and not get caught up in perks
from landlords. Essentially, a business
should make sure they don’t follow the
same path as the former tenant. But if
it all looks good, then it could be a great
opportunity.
“You get a lot of benefit from site
work and infrastructure. There’s a lot
of money to be saved if you can find
distressed properties,” said Keen.
He also urged caution; coming into a
new market and grabbing some fire sale
real estate might not give a new brand
necessary exposure.
“Most of the restaurants coming in
to backfill a distressed restaurant have
market acceptance. I’ll use Jack in the
Box as an example. If they came into
the Carolinas, they may not work well.
But if you’re Bojangles, they would be a
natural conversion,” said Keen. “Jack in
the Box wouldn’t fail because it was bad
real estate. It would be because their
brand wasn’t well known.”
The trick, of course, is finding those
distressed locations. “Nobody knows
who’s not performing,” said Keen. “I
think some of it is pride, some of it is
just lack of understanding that there
is an opportunity. There’s not someone
to call to say, ‘Hey, I’ve got this bad
restaurant.’”
NEW CONCEPTS IN FRANCHISING
Despite the flashy headlines, restaurants aren’t the only growth spot in franchising
BY JEFFREY MCKINNEY
C
ycleBar, a boutique indoor cycling
franchise, has sold more than
200 locations to franchisees in 60
U.S. markets expected to open by 2017,
including 100 this year.
E-cigarette franchisor Palm Beach
Vapors is now offering franchisees
GnuVape, a new system that can be
used for nutraceutical, vitamin and
medical marijuana vaping purposes.
It will allow Palm Beach Vapors to
expand into the health and wellness
business and enable franchisees to
add market share.
Lucky Dog Bark and Brew allows
patrons with or without dogs to have a
drink in a sports-themed bar and watch
dogs play leash-free in a dog park at
the same location. The franchise also
offers on-site, full-service daycare,
boarding and bath services for dogs.
Enter a new world of innovative, bold
and specialized franchises with their
own pizzazz. Many brands invading
the industry now in recent years are
offering products or services that
target a niche or precise demographic,
differentiating them from the masses
of brands that already exist, industry
experts say.
And these potential rising stars cover
franchises outside of the long-standing
fast food sector. In the past three
years, diverse franchise industries that
saw the most activity included health
and fitness, lodging and real estate
services, says Anya Nowakowski,
senior research analyst at FRANdata,
a franchise-focused research and
consulting firm in Arlington, Virginia.
“Demand for these industries is
closely tied to rises in disposable
income and broader improvements
in the national economy,” she said.
She projects 350 brands will enter the
market this year, up from 246 seven
years ago.
At the same time, the overall trend
in franchising isn’t necessarily the
creation of new sectors, but rather
the development of new areas of
16
Tru by Hilton is an all-new, franchise-only brand
that’s slated to be more affordable than Hilton’s
mainstream Hampton Inn collection.
specialization within existing sectors,
says Eric Stites, CEO of Franchise
Business Review in Portsmouth, New
Hampshire.
FRANdata’s Anya
Nowakowski projects 350 new
brands will enter the market
this year, up from 246 seven
years ago.
Here’s a peek at some franchise
brands or concepts meeting consumer
demands:
Health & fitness: Stites says the
general, old gym concepts have fallen
out of favor and are being replaced
by specialty fitness concepts that
focus on competitive group activities
or much more personalized oneon-one coaching. Leading brands
include Fit Body Boot Camp, Crunch
Fitness, Baby Boot Camp, Fit4MOM,
The MAX Challenge and Hard Exercise
Works.
Nowakowski says health and
fitness added 107 brands since 2013,
amounting to 35.7 percent of the total
sector. New concepts offer services
and classes plus access to equipment.
They often specialize in niche services
that feature proprietary technology,
training programs or workout routines
that differentiate the concept from
existing fitness centers.
The fitness and gym sector continues
to grow as indoor cycling brands like
CycleBar become a big phenomenon,
says Paul Rocchio, senior director
of membership development at the
International Franchise Association.
Instead of a typical gym, some brands
are looking into a niche. Omni Fight
Club Franchising focuses on high
energy, cardio-boxing classes, while
Soldierfit is a military-inspired fitness
company specializing in large group
boot camp training among other things.
Child-related services: Some 51
brands have been added since 2013,
amounting to 33.6 percent of the
sector’s total, Nowakowski says. With
26, the children’s educational program
category accounted for the most new
brands. She says education reform and
New Concepts Entering the Market
400
350
300
250
341
326
311
258
262 257 246 234
350
355
200
150
100
50
0
2007 2008
2009
2010 2011
# New Brands
trends in U.S. students’ performance,
especially in STEM subjects, has
created opportunities for franchises
to develop innovative programs and
technologies that “reshape the way we
educate America’s youth.”
Many companies are gearing
themselves toward childcare, Rocchio
says. Children’s consignment shops like
BaseCamp Franchising are becoming
popular, and emerging brands like
LEAP 4 FUN provides mobile dance and
gymnastics to help build a young child’s
self-esteem. Others like SafeSplash
With a simple mouth swab, ACRpoint Labs
can create a full genetic profile to provide
patients with customized diet and weight
loss plans.
2012
2013 2014 2015* 2016**
* Estimated ** Projected
Swim School offer athletic activities for
young kids.
Business services: Here’s another
franchise
segment
becoming
increasingly
specialized,
Stites
says.
Beyond
the
full-service
business centers like PostNet and
Alphagraphics, more of those brands
that are thriving include Unishippers,
InXpress, and BlueGrace Logistics
in the shipping and logistics sector.
Others include Supporting Strategies
(bookkeeping services), Sanford Rose
(recruiting services), and Murphy
Business & Financial (business and
financial brokerage services).
Lodging: Some 26 brands added by
eight franchisors opened since 2013,
Nowakowski says. Hospitality giant
Hilton Worldwide has added three
new franchise brands: Tru by Hilton,
Curio and Canopy. The brands target
audiences ranging from business
travelers to families and vacationers in
the middle and upper-income markets.
The company says Tru by Hilton will
fill a huge gap in the mid-priced hotel
category in the U.S. and Canada. Hilton
officials say the middle and lowerpriced categories are the largest
segments of the U.S hotel market.
Medical & healthcare: Several
of these brands are popping up.
Take Centro Chiropractic Clinic. The
operator of bilingual chiropractic care
centers provides care and treatment
to Spanish- speaking and minority
populations, Nowakowski says. That
niche helps differentiate it from
the English-speaking market for
chiropractic brands, which is more
saturated.
Senior care:
Some
franchise
concepts that support senior care
are being developed, Stites says. An
example: CarePatrol offers assisted
living placement services. And other
brands are expanding beyond in-home
care. BrightStar launched its first
full-service assisted living facility last
year, and is beginning to franchise the
concept.
New Concepts in Franchising | page 18
New Concepts in Franchising | from page 17
FILLING THE GAPS IN FRANCHISING
A
broad mix of brands is becoming
more chic because they are
creating or filling a gap in
various franchise categories. That is
the conclusion of some observers who
closely monitor the industry. The brands
are even more intriguing as they cover
several new non-restaurant categories.
A few brands that are distinguishing
themselves from rivals:
Tutoring: While tutoring franchises
have been around for decades, Eric
Stites of Franchise Business Review
says the ones thriving are pushing
beyond the boundaries of general
academic skill improvement. They
are focusing in on core subject areas,
especially STEM. Brands leading the
way include Mathnasium, Huntington
Learning Centers, Best in Class
Education Centers and The Tutoring
Center.
Todd Smith, of Miracle Method of Central Illinois, stands with his truck in front of
his location. “telehealth” service where members
can access U.S. board-certified
physicians 24 hours daily by phone or
video conferencing. In January 2016,
ARCpoint introduced a new diet and
weight management genetic test.
New real estate concepts: Wallace
Property
Management
Group
specializes in the management of
middle to upper end residential
homes, says Anya Nowakowski of
FRANdata. The economy improving,
particularly a growing housing market
in the past few years, has created an
opening for higher-end brokerage
services.
iTrip provides property listing and
rental services specifically to vacation
home rental properties. The brand
uses digital marketing and an internal
database of vacationers who express
direct interest in specific destinations
to market those destinations directly to
them.
Other
intriguing
franchises:
ARCpoint Labs was founded in 2005 and
initially offered employment-screening
services, including drug testing. It has
evolved since then, adding various
revenue sources for franchisees across
nearly 100 locations. In 2015, the
brand launched ARCpoint MD, a new
18
Miracle Method, calling itself the
nation’s largest professional bathroom
and kitchen refinishing franchise, added
46 new franchisees to its system over
the past five years, growing the brand by
about 33 percent to a total of 137.
Palm Beach Vapors is now offering franchisees its GnuVape system that can be
used for nutraceutical, vitamin and medical marijuana vaping.
CHEAP OIL RIPPLES THROUGH THE OIL PATCH
BY NICHOLAS UPTON
S
upply and demand has caught up
to the oil industry, and the lowest
prices seen since the early 2000s
are wreacking havoc all across the
macroeconomic landscape.
The industry is exceeding supply by an
estimated 1.7 million barrels each day,
but nobody wants to shut off the spout,
especially since growth was fueled by
monumental amounts of cheap debt
that needs to be serviced. As hedges run
out, that debt bubble could burst and
make things even worse. Even if demand
magically rises, the shuttered shale
operations will kick into gear ensuring a
tepid rally at most. In short, it’s a bad time
to be around oil.
Restaurants across the various oil
patches are cutting costs and bearing
down, as oil isn’t expected to rebound
until at least 2017. But there are two very
different oil markets, the boom market
and the legacy market.
In North Dakota’s Bakken Region, the
black gold rush surged into sleepy towns
like Williston. There, restaurateurs who
were the smartest people around 18
months ago now have a grim outlook.
Marcus Jundt, a multi-unit operator
and franchisor of Uberrito, has 61
restaurants, four in the Bakken and 57
around Houston.
“Ninety-five percent of our restaurants
are in the greater Houston area and
then North Dakota, so yeah, we have oil
exposure,” said Jundt.
He’s seeing effects on oil in boom
and legacy markets. He said some of
his Williston competitors are in a dire
situation. “Mentally, I’m preparing myself
for half the restaurants closing,” said
Jundt. “I think it’s going to be a bloodbath.”
While he doesn’t plan on closing down
any of the four Williston restaurants he
bought in 2012, there’s been quite a shift
in business. He’s down 30 to 40 percent
in Williston.
“Depending on the day of the month, we
lose money or make money,” said Jundt,
noting that the oil town wasn’t exactly
home to the new labor force. “People that
came up here came for money, and when
they lose their job, they leave.”
The satellite boomtowns around
Houston have seen rough trends as well,
but not as bad as the Bakken. “We are
seeing issues in the smaller markets
that are very energy intense: Midland,
Odessa and markets like that, there has
been an impact across the board,” said
Lynne Collier, a Dallas-based restaurant
analyst at Sterne Agee CRT.
As the true impact of low oil prices
comes into view, however, some Texas
boomtown operators are still seeing good
numbers, just not as good as the $100 oil
days.
“It’s definitely down from a year ago,
no doubt about it. But it’s really strong
compared to the rest of the restaurant
industry,” said Ollie Wilkins, a twounit Firehouse Subs operator and area
representative for the brand in West
Texas.
Wilkins said his Midland restaurant is
No. 1 in the system, even as traffic has sunk
10 to 15 percent and catering dropped 30
percent. Getting an affordable lease will
help him weather this new phase in the
oil cycle. But leveraged restaurants with
expensive leases are hurting. Two casual
diners shut down after the August drop in
oil, citing financial struggles.
“It was totally expected. When I decided
to do Midland, I knew oil was a high point
and that it would one day come down,”
said Wilkins. “But I didn’t expect it to
come down in only a couple years.”
The remaining roughnecks and locals
are now looking for a good value at places
like Firehouse. Finding labor has gotten
a lot easier too; instead of paying $14 an
hour, he’s hiring new workers at $11.50.
Wilkins said the dip hasn’t changed any
growth plans, but banks are asking more
questions on loan applications. “The fear
is there will be more capital required to
be put down on loans, and higher interest
rates,” said Wilkins. “It was pretty easy in
the area to attain a loan.”
Guillermo Perales, president and CEO
of Sun Holdings, has 620 restaurants
across Texas and he’s seeing a similar dip
in the shale boomtown of Dilley, Texas.
Sales in his Dilley Burger King are down
20 to 30 percent year over year, but in the
legacy oil markets, things are great for
QSR.
“It’s such a specific, unique market.
In Dallas, Houston and San Antonio,
we’re not really feeling it,” said Perales.
He said he’s seeing more people
trade to fast food. In the first weeks of
2016, his Burger King, Arby’s and Cici’s
Pizza restaurants saw “very, very good
sales.”
Casual restaurants like those that
closed in Midland and more upscale
concepts, however, are hurting. And
anyone with a catering program has
seen a drastic loss in big party business.
“Fine dining has been hit the hardest.
Del Frisco’s certainly has indicated
some issues in Houston,” said Collier,
noting Del Frisco’s 2.2 percent sales
decline outlined in Q4 earnings. “The
QSR guys like Sonic and Fiesta are
saying they’re not seeing it at all
throughout most of Texas.”
Kona Grill and Brinker also noted
anemic sales due to low oil prices in
recent comments as consumers trend
toward cheaper options. But trading
down could just be the beginning of
the oil patch’s issues if the debt bubble
bursts.
“If this is the bottom, I’ll be really
happy,” said Wilkins.
NEW TAX BREAKS MAKE REMODEL PROGRAMS
EASIER TO SWALLOW FOR SOME FRANCHISEES
Mandated
remodeling
programs
always give franchisees fits—it’s a
lot of money to invest, and they have
no choice but to do so. New tax rules
won’t necessarily make the programs
sweet, but they’ll help the medicine go
down.
BY BETH EWEN
C
hurch’s Chicken is one of many
franchise
brands
mandating
remodeling programs for its
franchisees, but this year it has an
incentive to offer, courtesy of an unlikely
source—the Internal Revenue Service.
That’s right, after at least three years of
heavy negotiating and a big effort by the
National Restaurant Association, among
others, the IRS has finalized what’s known
as the remodel safe harbor rule.
It allows qualified restaurant operators
and retailers to deduct a big chunk of
certain remodeling costs in the first year—
rather than spreading those out over years
and years. Thus their tax bill is lowered and
the remodeling program becomes much
more attractive.
Plus, operators don’t have to conduct
expensive
and
complicated
cost
segregation studies to get the benefits,
although some may continue to do so,
anyway, to maximize their return.
Another change makes permanent
shorter depreciation times, to 15 years in
some cases compared with the former 39.
Shorter depreciation times have been a
temporary feature of the tax law in recent
years, but the PATH act, otherwise known
as Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes,
lent certainty by making them permanent
in December.
“It’s very good news for the restaurant
industry,” says Dusty Profumo, CFO of
Church’s Chicken, who was busy in late
January working with his accounting firm
to provide examples to franchisees about
what their return on investment would
be before and after these changes. He
wasn’t quite ready to share the numbers
with our readers then, but confirmed the
20
“It’s very good news for the restaurant industry,” says Dusty Profumo, CFO of Church’s
Chicken, about new tax rules that he believes will make it easier to convince franchisees
to remodel.
improvements would be significant.
“Any time you can get the government
to share in an investment, which this
does—it’s very good news,” he says.
Here’s a disclaimer right off the bat,
which Profumo and everyone else we
talked to for this story emphasized: Each
person’s individual situation is different,
and so of course careful consultation
with tax advisers is imperative.
That being said, accountants and
franchisors are expecting a sweeter time
urging their franchisees to complete
remodeling programs. “Maybe this is the
year to get them on board,” says Charles
Bailey, referring to the often-resistant
multi-unit operators who are mandated
to do remodels. Bailey is an audit partner
with Warren Averett CPAs and Advisors in
Atlanta.
To qualify for the remodel safe harbor
rule, Bailey emphasizes, operators must
either be publicly traded or have audited
financial statements, something a singleor few-unit operator is unlikely to find
worthwhile. But for those with five, 10 or
many more units, it’s a boon.
Bailey offers a rough example, for an
operator with a 41 percent combined
federal and state tax rate who will
be spending $10 million on qualified
renovations (and setting aside any tax
elections that need to be made.) In the
past, that operator would get a $660,000
deduction, for tax savings of $273,000
that would be spread over 15 years.
Under the new rules, the operator who
spends $10 million gets a 75 percent or
$7.5 million deduction the first year. “So
you just saved $3.1 million off your tax
bill” in year one, Bailey explains, and
then that operator can deduct the rest
of the savings over 15 years.
Mandated
remodel
programs,
particularly for legacy operators with
many, many units owned for years,
can be a bone of contention between
franchisors and franchisees. The most
visible example today is between
Wendy’s and DavCo, Wendy’s fourthlargest franchisee who balked at
completing the remodels, only to be
The remodeling program at Church’s Chicken
costs a relatively modest $100,000 to $125,000, and
the new interior is shown here.
sued last year by the franchisor. At the
time, a Wendy’s spokesman said it is
“confident in our position and had no
other choice but to file suit,” to compel
DavCo to comply. “We believe the vast
majority of franchisees support our
initiatives to grow the Wendy’s brand.”
In a countersuit, DavCo said
franchisees “stand to make little or no
return on their investment” from the
mandated remodeling program, and
estimated its own costs would be “at
least $55 million in present dollars for
the first 60 percent of its restaurants,”
and “at least $20 million more” for the
remaining 40 percent.
In other words, remodels can cost
big money and cause big problems. Of
course, these tax rule changes won’t fix
all the disputes, but they may help.
At Church’s Chicken, for example,
Profumo says its mandated re-imaging
program costs a relatively modest
$100,000 to $125,000, with a few
items such as a digital image board
that are optional. Under the new rules,
“you can write a large share of that off
immediately,” he points out, making for
lower tax payments.
Church’s has remodeled about
30 percent of its corporate-owned
restaurants, which total 250, “so we have
a good feeling for what it’s going to cost.
We’ve always tried to lead the system
and do things first, and now the 2016
focus will be to get the franchisees to
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW…
…about the new tax rule
1. The “remodel safe harbor rule,” as it’s
known, offers significant benefits to
restaurant owners that remodel.
2. To qualify, operators must be
publicly held or have audited financial
statements—so
the
one-to-threeunit operators may not benefit. Larger
operators definitely will.
3. The biggest bang: Taxpayers can deduct
75 percent of qualified remodeling
catch up with us,” he says. Church’s has
about 950 franchised units. “This is a
big, big help to any franchisees that are
required to do reimage projects over the
next several years.”
You’ve heard that old joke: “I’m from
the government and I’m here to help
you.” In this case, and likely to the
surprise of many restaurant operators, it
may just be true.
expenses in the first year, rather than
spreading the deduction over as many
as 39 years, for an immediate, significant
tax cut.
4. Also, qualified improvements under
previous law could be written off over
15 years, but that was only a temporary
provision. Lending certainty to operators’
plans, Congress has now made the
shorter time frame permanent.
5. Of course, don’t even think about
taking this advice without consulting
with your own CPAs, experts insist.
Fits & starts in the
franchise food chain
Ditching antibiotics, eschewing
GMOs and switching to cage-free
eggs is all the rage in restaurants,
and the “better food” movement
only seems to be gaining steam.
While today’s picky eaters
might rightly feel a sense of
accomplishment in modernizing
the menu of big national brands,
major restaurants have been
upping their food game for
1982
Jack In The Box
becomes first QSR
to offer portable
salads
1991
Arby’s debuts its
Light Menu, a first
in QSR
1993
Jack In The Box
E. coli outbreak
sickens 700+
22
decades. Against this backdrop
of steady improvements, we’ve
included a few tidbits to illustrate
rising chatter that will only increase
the pressure for restaurants to
evolve their game. Here’s a look
at some of the biggest “better
food” milestones—and a few
setbacks—in franchising.
1983
1985
Subway begins
baking fresh
bread in stores
1990
McDonald’s
switches to
vegetable oil
for fries
— Tom Kaiser
Boston Chicken
(Market) founded
as part of “home
meal replacement”
craze
1986
Fresh Choice
founded as
healthier
alternative
to fast food
U.S. organic food
market will grow
about 14% annually
through 2018.
—United States Organic
Food Market Forecast
& Opportunities, 2018
1987
McDonald’s starts
Super Summer
Size promotion
1989
1988
1987
Chick-fil-A adds
healthier grilled
chicken sandwich
USDA introduces
first graphic food
pyramid
Health-centric
D’Lites of America
folds, remainders
branded as
Hardee’s
1994
1996
Denny’s launches
“Fit Fare” menu
containing items
w/less than 15
grams of fat
Wendy’s adopts
animal welfare
auditing practices
1998
Subway lists full
nutrition info for
all menu items
2001
Journalist
Eric Schlosser
releases “Fast
Food Nation: The
Dark Side of the
All-American
Meal”
DESIGN BY JOE VEEN
of Americans
actively avoid
soda —Mercola
Consumption of high
fructose corn syrup
increased more than
1000% from 1970
to 1990. —National
Institutes of Health
1 in 3 Americans will have diabetes
by 2050 —CDC
NUMBER (MILLIONS)
25
pounds of pesticides
used/month in U.S. —CDC
2004
McDonald’s
phases out Super
Size options
15
0
2011
Celebrity
Chef Jamie
Oliver battles
McDonald’s
over pink slime
Domino’s adds
gluten-free pizza
crusts, a favorite
of hipsters
1% of Americans
have celiac
disease, but
gluten-free foods
have become
an $8.8 billion
industry, up 63%
from 2012.
—Mintel
5
Hardee’s
introduces
Thickburgers
as “monument
to decadence”
2012
AMERICANS
— WITH —
DIABETES
10
2004
2012
Burger King,
Krispy Kreme
and Wendy’s
announce switch
to cage-free eggs
20
80 83 86 89 92 95 98 01 04 07 10 13
YEAR
2006
2007
Wendy’s
switches to nonhydrogenated
cooking oil w/0
grams of trans fat
Wendy’s
introduces
Baconator double
cheeseburger w/6
strips of bacon
2010
2010
Chick-fil-A
removes high
fructose corn
syrup from select
menu items
Panera becomes
first national
restaurant to
display nutrition
information on
menu boards
2008
California and
New York City
ban trans fat
in restaurants
2009
2008
Taco Bell pays
more for tomatoes
on behalf of farm
workers
Dunkin’ Donuts
unveils DDSMART
menu of healthier
options
2015
2012
2013
2015
KFC China takes
pounding after
investigators find
excess antibiotics.
Sales fall sharply.
38% of U.S. adults
are obese, a highwater mark
Chick-fil-A and
Subway announce
plans to phase out
antibiotics
Taco Bell &
Pizza Hut plan
to remove
many artificial
ingredients
Book of Brands is introducing a new color-coded system to help you identify the
industry of each franchise by the color of their name.
To look up a particular brand, check out the index on page 56.
Auto Related
Hospitality Related/Leisure
Business Services
Pet/Animal Related
Consumer Services
Restaurant/Food Related
Health/Beauty Related
Retail Related
9Round Franchising, LLC
1099 East Butler Road 108H
Greensville, SC 29607
Phone: 864-962-4604
Toll Free: 480-621-5740
Contact: Jeff Mathews
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.9round.com
Year Started: 2008
Total Investment: $52, 000 - $90,000
Multi-Unit Deals: yes
Targeted Growth Areas: See our online listing.
™
Company Description: Full Body 30 minute workout.
Workout changes daily, NO class schedule (you are
never late), trainer ALWAYS included. In our model
the trainer is often the owner.
AARON'S
309 East Paces Ferry Road, NE
Atlanta, GA 30305-2377
Phone: 678-402-3629
Contact: Stan Hauseman
Website: www.aaronsfranchise.com
Year Started: 1955
Total Investment: $263,870 - $692,580
Total Units: 2,150
24
Company Description: Aaron’s is a recessionresistant franchise concept. We are changing the
way a growing and underserved market acquires
necessities like brand-name residential furniture,
consumer electronics, home appliances and
computers. Aaron’s is an NYSE-listed company
(symbol AAN). Aaron’s is ranked #15 among the
Franchise 500® out of more than 3500 franchise
concepts, and ranked #35 among franchise chains in
worldwide sales by Franchise Times.
Always Best Care
Senior Services
1406 Blue Oakes Boulevard
Roseville, CA 95648
Phone: 417-616-3698
Contact: Kyler Steding
Website: www.franchisewithalwaysbestcare.com
Year Started: 1996
Total Units: 200+
Company Description: Always Best Care provides
warm, compassionate and professional care for
seniors and others when they need it most from the
comfort of their home. The teams at our offices are
local experts in senior care, providing a resource
for aging and senior living delivered through locally
owned and operated office around the country.
Bar Louie
4550 Beltway Drive
Addison, TX 75001
Phone: 214-845-4800
Contact: Jill Szymanski
Website: www.barlouie.com/franchise
Year Started: 1990
Total Investment: $600,000 - $3,000,000
Total Units: 190
Company Description: Founded in Chicago in
1990 Bar Louie is a national collection of over 100
neighborhood bar and eateries featuring handcrafted cocktails and spirits, delectable food and
an inviting atmosphere for people to enjoy time with
friends and mingle. Open for lunch, happy hour,
dinner and late night – Bar Louie is a progressively
hip and lively atmosphere. To learn about franchising
opportunities go to http://www.barlouie.com/
franchise
Big O Tires
4280 Professional Center Drive
Juno Beach, FL 33410
Phone: 844-876-2446
Contact: Franchise Department
Website: www.bigofranchise.com
Year Started: 1962
Total Units: 400
Company Description: BIG O Is Your BIG Opportunity.
With more than 50 years in the tire and automotive
maintenance industry, Big O Tires® is proud to be
a world-class leader. As we continue to thrive in an
ever-expanding market, we invite you to be a part
of the exciting opportunities as a member of the Big
O Tires® family. This website and any request for
information or forms are not a franchise offering or
an offer to sell a franchise.
Broken Yolk Cafe
1851 Garnet Ave.
San Diego, CA 92109
Phone: 858-740-9554
Contact: Valerie McCartney
Website: www.brokenyolkfranchise.com
Year Started: 1979
Total Units: 17
Company Description: Operating since 1979 and
featured on the Travel Channel’s Man vs Food,
Broken Yolk Cafe features hearty portions and
fresh-from-scratch cooking from 7 am to 3 pm daily.
$2.1 million AUV, second generation/conversion real
estate and a 9-hour operating day make the Broken
Yolk a highly desireable brand.
Brothers Est. 1967® Bar & Grill
308 South Third Street, PO Box 1621
La Crosse, WI 54602
Phone: 608-784-1225 x245
Contact: Scott Severson
Website: www.brothersbar.com
Year Started: 1990
Total Investment: $1,807,000 - $2,360,000
Total Units: 19
Multi-Unit Deals: no
Captain D’s
624 Grassmere Park Drive, Suite 30
Nashville, TN 37211
Phone: 615-231-2030
Contact: Michael Arrowsmith
Website: www.captainds.com
Total Units: 512
26
Company Description: Brothers Est. 1967®Bar &
Grill has been serving its customers in the food and
beverage industry since 1990. Since that time, we’ve
opened nearly 20 locations across the Midwest with
several additional locations opening later in 2016.
By establishing a strong reputation of having the
“best specials” and the “most fun” in a high-energy,
sports-themed environment, Brothers sets the new
standard for the “classic” American Bar and Grill.
Company Description: For a fresh business
opportunity that provides industry-leading AUV
growth, look no further than Captain D’s. Since
opening our doors in 1969, we’ve never stopped
innovating and it has paid off. Today, with more than
520 restaurants nationwide and internationally,
we’re proud to be America’s favorite quick service
destination for seafood. We’ve found the perfect
recipe for success through our heritage, hospitality,
and commitment to excellence, and we’re looking for
new franchise professionals to share in Captain D’s
growth. If you’re interested in joining us, catch your
opportunity today.
Carl’s Jr. Restaurants
6307 Carpinteria Ave, Suite A
Carpinteria, CA 93013
Phone: 805-745-7842
Toll Free: 866-253-7655
Contact: Mike D’Arezzo, CFE
Website: www.carlsjrfranchising.com
Year Started: 1941
Total Units: 1,523
Company Description: CKE Restaurants Holdings,
Inc. is celebrating 75 years in the quick-service
industry. As of January 2016, CKE, through its
subsidiaries, had more than 3,600 franchised,
licensed or company-operated restaurants in 44
states and in 36 countries, including 1,523 Carl’s Jr.®
restaurants and 2,129 Hardee’s® restaurants.
Checkers Drive In Restaurants, Inc.
4300 W Cypress Street, Suite 600
Tampa, FL 33607
Phone: 813-283-7069
Toll Free: 888-913-9135
Contact: Ursula Lane
Website: www.checkersfranchising.com
Year Started: 1985
Total Units: 807
Church’s Chicken
980 Hammond Drive, Suite 1100
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: 770-350-3876
Toll Free: 800-639-3495
Contact: Jodi Fraser
Website: www.churchs.com
Year Started: 1952
Total Units: 1,631
Company Description: CHECKERS & RALLY’S IS
DIFFERENT! For 30 years, we have focused on bold
and flavorful food, amazing value for our guests, and
restaurant profitability. We operate restaurants too
‰ÛÒ all products and initiatives are tested before
rollout to the franchise community. With over 800
restaurants, we still have top-tier market availability
in all major US markets with various build-out
options. Amid four consecutive years of same-store
sales growth and counting, we look forward to the
continued growth of our franchise family.
Company Description: Founded in San Antonio, TX
in 1952 by George W. Church, Church’s Chicke® is
one of the largest quick service restaurant chicken
chains in the world. Church’s® specializes in
Original and Spicy Chicken freshly prepared in small
batches throughout the day that are hand-battered
and double-breaded, Tender Strips®, sandwiches,
honey-butter biscuits made from scratch and freshly
baked, and classic, home-style sides all for a great
value. Church’s® (along with its sister brand Texas
Chicken® outside the Americas) has 1,631 locations
in 25 countries and global markets and system-wide
sales of more than $1 billion. For more information,
visit www.churchs.com
Coverall
350 SW 12th Avenue
Deerfield Beach, FL 33442
Phone: 800-537-3371
Toll Free: 888-537-6866
Contact: Global Support Center
Website: www.coverall.com
Year Started: 1985
Total Units: 7,996
Company Description: The Coverall® System began
in 1985 as a three-person company headquartered
in San Diego, California and now supports more
than 8,000 Franchised Businesses in 90 markets
across the United States and Internationally. These
independently owned and operated franchised
businesses and their employees professionally clean
over two million square feet of commercial office
space every day.
Del Taco
25521 Commercentre Drive
Lake Forest, CA 92630
Phone: 949-462-7379
Contact: Laura Tanaka
Website: www.deltacofranchise.com
Year Started: 1964
Total Units: 545
Company Description: For over 50 years, Del Taco
(NASDAQ: TACO) has been heating up the Mexican
QSR category. With nearly 550 restaurants and
growing, we’ve built a bolder, fresher, better brand
offering unbelievable value, uncompromising quality
and freshness, and a taste for every appetite and
budget. We’re aggressively expanding across the
U.S. and seeking passionate multi-unit restaurant
operators like you. Visit deltacofranchise.com to
learn more about Del Taco’s franchising opportunity
and become a Del Taco franchisee today!
Denny’s
203 East Main Street
Spartanburg, SC 29319
Toll Free: 800-304-0222
Contact: Franchise Development
Website: www.dennysfranchising.com
Year Started: 1953
Total Investment: See our online listing.
Total Units: 1,711
28
Company Description: For over 60 years, Denny’s
has been the trusted leader in family dining. We
enjoy a brand awareness of almost 100%! We are
proud to serve America’s most-loved foods 24 hours
a day, 7 days a week. If you are an experienced
restaurateur with a desire to build new restaurants,
we invite you to contact us and learn more about
growth opportunities within our great brand!
Express Employment
Professionals
9701 Boardwalk Blvd
Oklahoma City, OK 73162
Phone: 405-840-5000
Toll Free: 877-652-6400
Contact: David Lewis
Website: www.expressfranchising.com
Year Started: 1983
Total Units: 725
FASTSIGNS International, Inc.
2542 Highlander Way
Carrollton, TX 75006
Phone: 214-346-5679
Toll Free: 800-827-7446
Contact: Mark Jameson
Website: www.fastsigns.com
Year Started: 1985
Total Units: 600+
Company Description: The staffing industry is on
track to generate a projected $123 billion in North
America alone in 2015. Average annual sales for
Express offices in Canada open more than two years
is $3.6 million.* Plus, as an Express franchise owner,
you control your life with flexible weekday hours in a
professional business setting. Express Employment
Professionals reached $2.8 billion in sales in 2014
and is ranked as the No.1 staffing franchise in the
Entrepreneur 500.
Company Description: They see signs. You see dollar
signs. Join the franchise that’s leading the next
generation of business communication. Our high
standards for quality and customer service have
made FASTSIGNS the most recognized brand in the
industry, driving significantly more web traffic to the
web than any other sign company.
We also lead in these important areas:
• Franchise Business Review FBR50 Franchisee
Satisfaction Award 2006-2015
•Franchise Research Institute World Class
Franchise 2011-2015
•CFA Franchisees’ Choice Designation 2004-2015
•$21 million in SBA financing available
Fazoli’s Restaurants
2470 Palumbo Drive
Lexington, KY 40509
Phone: 859-825-6252
Toll Free: 859-268-2263
Contact: Sam Nelson
Website: www.fazolis.com
Year Started: 1988
Total Investment: $558,000. - $1,379,000
Total Units: 230
Company Description: The largest fast-casual Italian
restaurant brand in the U.S., and after 25 years, still
has few competitors. This first-mover advantage
remains in-place, as attempts by others to duplicate
our recipes and hospitable service standards at
competitive pricing have proven unsuccessful.
Fazoli’s operates in 26 states. The time is right for
national expansion with the right franchise-partners
who mirror our passion for high quality Italian
cuisine and great guest service.
Figaro’s Pizza
1500 Liberty Street SE, Suite 160
Salem, OR 97302
Phone: 503-371-9318
Toll Free: 888-344-2767
Contact: Ron Berger
Website: www.figaros.com
Year Started: 1981
Total Units: 55
Company Description: Fresh ingredients generously
portioned lead to our pizzas having Flavors That
Sing! Consumers love the food and you’ll love
the system. Established in 1981, we’ve recently
completed a brand refresh and have new store
designs for delivery/carry-out units and dine in units.
We provide continuously updated training, operations
and marketing support both in the field and from the
corporate office. We are accepting applications for
Master Franchise Area Developers, as well as
Firehouse Subs
3410 Kori Road
Jacksonville, FL 32257
Phone: 904-886-8300
Toll Free: 877-887-8330
Contact: Greg Delks
Website: www.firehousesubs.com
Year Started: 1994
Total Investment: $169,414- $989,553
Total Units: 860+
Company Description: Firehouse Subs® is a fast
casual restaurant chain with a passion for Hearty
and Flavorful Food and Heartfelt Service. Founded
by brothers and former firefighters Chris Sorensen
and Robin Sorensen, Firehouse Subs is a brand built
on decades of fire and police service, high quality
subs, and a commitment to the Firehouse Subs
Public Safety Foundation®. In 2015, Firehouse Subs
ranked No 1 consumer choice for welcoming and
comfortable atmosphere by Technomic’s 2015 Chain
Restaurant Consumer’s Choice awards.
Fitness Evolution
2144 Industrial Parkway
Silver Springs, MD 20904
Phone: 417-616-3698
Toll Free: 800-485-4511
Contact: Kyler Steding
Website: fitnessevolution.com
Year Started: 2010
Total Units: 50
30
Company Description: Fitness Evolution is a
premium fitness club without the premium prices.
Our locations combine state-of-the-art equipment,
classes and amenities with a family friendly
environment and supportive staff, staring at just
$9.99 per month. We pride ourselves on being a lowcost and contract free gym, while providing a high
quality gym experience.
Fuddruckers
13111 Northwest Freeway, Suite 600
Austin, TX 77040
Phone: 713-329-6814
Toll Free: 866-939-6273
Contact: Keith Coleman
Website: www.fuddruckers.com
Year Started: 1980
Total Investment: $495,000-$1,540,000
Total Units: 190
Company Description: Fuddruckers is the original
“upscale” burger pioneer, setting the standard of
serving 100% fresh, never frozen, All-American
premium beef for over 30 years. Guests can also
enjoy a variety of chicken sandwiches, our famous
hot dog, plus fresh salads and other entree items.
With close to 200 locations in the US, we are looking
for strategic franchise partners to expand nationwide
and bring “The World’s Greatest Hamburgers” to
their market.
Giordano's Famous Stuffed
Deep Dish Pizza
444 N. Michigan Ave, Suite 1110
Chicago, IL 60611
Phone: 715-559-8009
Contact: Eric Brown
Website: www.giordanos.com
Year Started: 1974
Total Units: 56
Company Description: Based in Chicago, Giordano's
Famous Stuffed Deep Dish Pizza has been around for
over 40 years and has over 55 locations.
Golden Corral Buffet & Grill
5151 Glenwood Avenue
Raleigh, NC 27612
Phone: 919-881-4479
Toll Free: 800-284-5673
Contact: Annette Bagwell
Website: www.goldencorralfranchise.com
Year Started: 1973
Total Units: 491
Company Description: With more than 40 years of
success and nearly 500 locations, Golden Corral
is recognized by Nation’s Restaurant News as
“America’s #1 buffet and grill.” Golden Corral is the
first-choice franchise brand for savvy restaurant
operators looking to expand their local dining market
share or successful franchisees seeking to diversify
their portfolio with a proven high revenue restaurant
brand. With national brand recognition, best-in-class
food offerings and value pricing, there is still plenty
of growth potential.
Ground Round Grill & Bar
15 Main Street - Suite 210
Freeport, ME 04032
Phone: 207-865-4433
Contact: Jack Crawford
Website: www.groundround.com
Year Started: 1969
Total Units: 30
Company Description: Ground Round® Grill and
Bar is a known Casual Dining brand since 1969,
offering a two room concept for families or adults
meeting friends or watching the game. Since 2004,
our brand is owned by our franchisees and offers a
unique franchise model, whereby operators can own
a franchise along with a share in the overall brand.
Ground Round operates restaurants in 10 states
spread across the Midwest and Northeast areas of
the United States.
Hardee’s Restaurants
100 N. Broadway, Suite 1200
St. Louis, MO 63102
Phone: 714-326-4488
Toll Free: 866-253-7655
Contact: John Mayes
Website: www.hardeesfranchising.com
Year Started: 1960
Total Units: 2,129
HomeVestors of America, Inc.
6500 Greenville Ave, Suite 400
Dallas, TX 75206
Phone: 800-704-6992
Toll Free: 800-704-6992
Contact: David Hicks
Website: www.homevestorsfranchise.com
Year Started: 1996
Total Units: 670
32
Company Description: Celebrating more than
55 years in the quick-service industry, Hardee’s
Restaurants is a wholly owned subsidiary of CKE
Restaurants Holdings, Inc. of Carpinteria, Calif.
As of January 2016, CKE, through its subsidiaries,
had more than 3,600 franchised, licensed or
company-operated restaurants in 44 states and in
36 countries, including 1,523 Carl’s Jr.® restaurants
and 2,129 Hardee’s® restaurants.
Company Description: HomeVestors®, the “We Buy
Ugly Houses®” company, is the first and largest
national franchise company for the professional real
estate investor interested in purchasing, repairing
and reselling houses or holding them for rental
properties. HomeVestors provides a powerful
national brand, an excellent training and mentoring
program, a professional marketing program, and
financing for qualifying property purchases. Dallasbased HomeVestors has 670 independently owned
and operated franchise locations in 45 states.
Hot Dog on a Stick
1346 Oakbrook Drive, Suite 170
Norcross, GA 30093
Phone: 770-514-4500
Toll Free: 877-639-2391
Contact: Dustin Thompson
Website: www.hotdogonastickfranchise.com
Year Started: 1946
Total Units: 78
Company Description: An American Icon since
1946, Hot Dog on a Stick™ is an amazing company
that began as the entrepreneurial dream of Dave
Barham. What began as a small beachfront store
in Santa Monica has grown to over 80 locations in
8 states, as well as locations in Korea! And that
beachfront store in Santa Monica is STILL serving
our famous food and lemonade to beachgoers today!
Huddle House Restaurants
5901-B Peachtree Dunwoody Road NE, Suite 450
Atlanta, GA 30328
Phone: 770-325-1331
Toll Free: 800-868-5700
Contact: Franchise Development
Website: www.HuddleHouseFranchising.com
Year Started: 1964
Total Investment: $404,180 – $1,485,310
Total Units: 400
Company Description: Typically open 24 hours,
Huddle House is a 52-year old brand with over 400
locations open and under development. Franchisees
serve up Southern hospitality and delicious homestyle food with a primary focus on breakfast.
Flexible format for freestanding, end cap, or travel
center locations; range of available market sizes;
affordable investment; and attractive unit level
economics makes Huddle House a great investment
option in the full-service family dining industry.
JD Byrider
12802 Hamilton Crossing Blvd
Carmel, IN 46032
Phone: 317-249-3000
Toll Free: 800-947-4532
Contact: Jack Humbert
Website: www/franchise.jdbyrider.com
Year Started: 1989
Total Units: 170
Company Description: J.D. Byrider is the largest
used car/dealer carried finance company in the U.S.
and has defined the industry over the past 25 years.
This is the only franchise opportunity in America
where you have the opportunity to become the bank.
The J.D Byrider brand is a vertically integrated
business model that integrates an automobile sales
lot and the customer financing necessary. You
enjoy an opportunity to maximize profit potential by
providing all services.
Jimmy John’s Gourmet
Sandwiches
2212 Fox Dr
Champaign, IL 61820
Phone: 217-356-9900
Toll Free: 800-546-6904
Contact: Bob Morena
Website: www.jimmyjohns.com
Year Started: 1983
Total Units: 2,285
Jimmy’s Egg
15353 Heritage Circle
Thornton, CO 80602
Phone: 720-556-3877
Contact: John Hyduke
Website: www.jimmysegg.com
Year Started: 1980
Total Units: 47
Company Description: Unlike any other sub shop,
Jimmy John’s is a high-energy, upscale, gourmet
sandwich restaurant that features a menu made
up of only of the highest quality meats, cheese and
vegetables available. All meats and produce are
sliced daily while our signature seven-grain wheat
bread and French bread rolls are baked fresh in the
store every day! All sandwiches are served cold no grills or fryers - made to order in less than 30
seconds! Freaky fast. Freaky good. That’s Jimmy
John’s.
Company Description: JIMMY’S EGG® Restaurants
offer a first-rate breakfast and lunch experience
to its customers in friendly environments designed
to feel inviting to millennials and baby boomers
alike. We have continuously evolved our breakfast
and lunch menu to strengthen the brand’s
competitiveness as a casual dining breakfast leader.
The menu features unique and traditional offerings
such as cracked-to order omelets, hot griddle items,
a variety of high quality breakfast meats and fresh
produce prepared daily. Hours: 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
daily.
LaRosa’s Family Pizzeria
2334 Boudinot Ave
Cincinnati, OH 45238
Phone: 513-347-5660
Contact: Michelle McMahon
Website: www.larosas.com/franchise
Year Started: 1954
Total Units: 66
34
Company Description: LaRosa’s is a family-style
pizzeria serving over 40 menu items for dine in,
carry-out or delivery. For over 60 years, we’ve
demonstrated consistent performance and proven
Guest appeal. Our full service concept features a
dining room, bar and party area. All pick-up and
delivery orders are taken in our unique Guest
Service Center. Guests enjoy world class service,
and relationship management technology uses Guest
order data to drive our loyalty program.
Little Caesars Pizza
2211 Woodward Ave., Fox Office Center
Detroit, MI 48201
Phone: 313-471-6469
Toll Free: 800-553-5776
Contact: Ed Ader
Website: www.littlecaesars.com
Year Started: 1959
Company Description: Named “Best Value in
America”* for nine years in a row, Little Caesars
provides franchisee candidates an opportunity for
independence with a proven system, outstanding
value, convenience and quality for customers,
a simple operating model and strong national
brand recognition. Franchisees benefit from a
comprehensive training program that focuses on all
aspects of the business, and they continue to receive
corporate support, expert analysis and consultation
as their business grows. * “Highest Rated ChainValue for the Money” based on a nationwide survey
of quick service restaurant consumers conducted by
Sandelman & Associates, 2007-2015. Miami Grill
6300 NW 31st Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
Phone: 954-973-0350
Contact: Robert Haar
Website: www.miamigrillfranchise.com
Year Started: 1990
Company Description: Miami Grill is a fast casual
restaurant franchise set to be one of the fastestgrowing restaurant brands in the world. This concept
comes from the owners of Miami Subs Grill, South
Florida’s iconic and beloved brand for over 25 years.
With great tropical style Miami Grill features savory
dishes like grilled mahi, shrimp, salads, wraps and
core favorites such as cheesesteaks, fresh Angus
burgers (humanely raised and antibiotic free) and
wings. Miami Grill has partnered with international
recording artist, Pitbull.
Midas
4300 TBC Way
Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33410
Phone: 800-365-0007
Contact: Franchise Department
Website: www.midasfranchise.com
Year Started: 1954
Total Units: 2,100
Company Description: Put Your Trust in the Midas!
Midas is proud to be a trusted, globally recognized
leader in the automotive industry. As we continue to
expand and build our reputation, we’re looking for
motivated individuals to be a part of our family! Join
the Midas team and build long-term success with the
#1 automotive repair franchise. This website and any
request for information or forms are not a franchise
offering or an offer to sell a franchise.
Moe’s Southwest Grill
200 Glenridge Point Parkway, Suite 200
Atlanta, GA 30342
Phone: 678-690-5436
Contact: Ashley Wilson
Website: www.moes.com
Year Started: 2000
Total Investment: $447,400-$965,800
Company Description: Moe’s Southwest Grill® is a
fun and engaging fast-casual restaurant franchise
serving a wide variety of fresh, made-to-order
southwest fare. Moe’s thrives in one of the fastest
growing segments, fast-casual Mexican, by serving
insanely great food with fresh ingredients in a
distinct, family-fun friendly atmosphere.
Mosquito Joe
349 Southport Cir, Suite 106
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Phone: 757-215-4253
Toll Free: 855-564-6563
Contact: Walter Ewell
Website: www.mosquitojoefranchise.com
Year Started: 2010
Total Units: 180
Company Description: With public demand for
Papa John’s International, Inc.
2002 Papa Johns Blvd.
Louisville, KY 40299
Phone: 502-261-4844
Toll Free: 888-255-7272
Contact: Caitlin Clines
Website: www.papajohns.com/franchise
Year Started: 1984
Total Units: 4,734
Company Description: Headquartered in Louisville,
36
eliminating harmful mosquitoes, ticks and other
outdoor pests on the rise, Mosquito Joe® is a
franchise opportunity with a great promise: making
outside fun again for communities throughout the
United States. You can be the solution for your
community while building a successful business
with recurring revenue streams serving both
residential and commercial customers. Attractive
franchise opportunities for both single unit and area
development operations are currently available.
Kentucky, Papa John’s International, Inc. is the
world’s third largest pizza delivery company. For
over 30 years, Papa John’s has delivered on the
brand’s promise of “Better Ingredients. Better
Pizza.” and is the recognized quality leader in
the pizza category. For 14 of the past 16 years,
consumers have rated Papa John’s No. 1 in customer
satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the
American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa
John’s is the Official Pizza Sponsor of the National
Football League and has over 4,800 restaurants
worldwide.
Papa Murphy’s
8000 N.E. Pkwy Dr., #350
Vancouver, WA 98662
Phone: 877-777-5062
Contact: Amy Stevens
Website: www.papamurphysfranchise.com
Year Started: 1981
Total Units: 1,500
Company Description: Papa Murphy’s is the largest
Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza chain in the United States
with over 1,500 stores in 38 states. Since 1981
we’ve offered a great value and a superior pizza to
our customers and a simple focused concept for
our franchisees. Papa Murphy’s limited hours of
operation, Take ‘N’ Bake concept without the hassles
of dining or delivery, provide a great franchise
opportunity. We currently have individual and Multiiunit opportunities available.
Perkins Restaurant & Bakery
6075 Poplar Ave, Suite 800
Memphis, TN 38119
Phone: 901-766-6400
Toll Free: 800-877-7375
Contact: Michael Lassen
Website: www.perkinsrestaurants.com/franchiseopportunity
Year Started: 1958
Total Units: 416
Company Description: Since 1958, Perkins
Restaurant & Bakery has offered quality, affordable
food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Our brand
heritage and ability to adapt to trends make Perkins
a leader in the family dining segment. We are
seeking experienced restaurant operators to meet
our expansion goals in key markets across North
America. We provide professional support services
in training, design & construction, marketing,
operations, quality assurance, and R&D.
Pet Supplies Plus
17197 N. Laurel Park Drive, Suite 402
Livonia, MI 48152
Phone: 734-793-6532
Contact: Steve Olson
Website: www.petsuppliesplus.com/franchise
Year Started: 1987
Total Units: 330+
Company Description: At Pet Supplies Plus, we’re
crazy for pets, too. With more than 330 franchise and
company locations in 26 states, Pet Supplies Plus
is America’s favorite neighborhood pet store. Each
location offers a wide array of pet food, pet products,
grooming services and animal expertise all at a great
value, allowing customers to spoil their pets even
more. Friendly, knowledgeable staff get to know each
pet and their owner by name and provide playful
store experiences to remind them just how fun it is to
own a pet. Pet Supplies Plus stores are large enough
to house an incredible variety of food and equipment,
yet small enough to still feel neighborly.
Pie Five Pizza Co.
3551 Plano Parkway
The Colony, TX 75056
Phone: 469-384-5108
Toll Free: 800-284-3466
Contact: Mark Ramage
Website: www.franchise.piefivepizza.com
Year Started: 2011
Total Investment: $343,500 - $479,500 (Does not
include real estate)
Total Units: 56
Company Description: We make fresh, handcrafted
and customized personal pizzas in less than five
minutes. Yep, just five minutes for delicious slices
made just the way your customers want!
PizzaRev Franchising LLC
2535 Townsgate Road, Suite 101
Westlake Village, CA 91361
Phone: 805-418-5207
Contact: Craig Hopkins
Website: www.pizzarev.com
Year Started: 2012
Total Investment: $509,000- $902,500
Total Units: 31
Company Description: PizzaRev is a “Craft
Your Own” fast-casual pizza franchise that has
reinvented the way America eats its favorite food.
Our combination of speed, quality, customization
and value has created thousands of fans across the
country.
Pizza Schmizza
1500 Liberty Street SE, Suite 160
Salem, OR 97302
Phone: 503-371-9318
Toll Free: 888-344-2767
Contact: Ron Berger
Website: www.schmizza.com
Year Started: 1993
Total Units: 25
38
Company Description: It hits you the moment you
see it. This is not just another pizza place. There is
a vibe, an ambience, a feeling that you can’t quite
put your finger on. A happy place - serious about the
food and drink it offers. Serious about the customer
enjoying a memorable experience. Serious, happy,
and edgy. Irreverent. Our customers, since 1993,
have schwarmed to Schmizza when they want great
pizza and great times.
Pool Scouts
349 Southport Circle, Suite 110
Virginia Beach, VA 23454
Phone: 757-387-3600
Toll Free: 844-407-2688
Contact: Jodi Ramoino
Website: www.poolscoutsfranchise.com
Year Started: 2016
Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen
400 Perimeter Center Terrace, Suite 1000
Atlanta, GA 30346
Phone: 404-459-4594
Contact: Renee Lewis
Website: www.popeyes.com
Total Units: 1,900 (domestic)
Company Description: Pool owners have been
craving a more professional approach towards pool
service and Pool Scouts is their answer, making
a splash in communities across the country. Pool
Scouts professionalizes the maintenance and service
of residential and commercial pools with state of the
art technology and best in class customer service.
A low cost of entry and recurring revenue model
provide great opportunity for franchisees, and for
our customers we promise, Perfect Pools, Scout’s
Honor!
Company Description: Popeyes Louisiana
Kitchen, Inc. is the franchisor and operator of
Popeyes® restaurants, the world's second-largest
QuickService Restaurant ("QSR") chicken concept
based on number of units. As of December 27,
2015, Popeyes had 2,539 operating restaurants in
the United States, three territories, and 27 foreign
countries. The Company's primary objective is
to deliver sales and profits by offering excellent
investment opportunities in its Popeyes brand and
providing exceptional franchisee support systems
and services to its owners. Popeyes Louisiana
Kitchen, Inc. can be found at www.popeyes.com.
Russo’s New York Pizzeria
5847 San Felipe, Suite 1700
Houston, TX 77057
Phone: 713-821-1322
Toll Free: 855-978-7767
Contact: Anthony Russo
Website: www.nypizzeria.com/franchise
Year Started: 1994
Total Units: 44
Company Description: Chef Anthony Russo created the
Russo’s New York Pizzeria In 1994 and has built a proven
franchise system with over 44 locations domestically
and internationally. His concept is built on authentic,
hand-crafted New York style pizza and his Italian family
recipes made from scratch and served in a warm inviting
and innovative interior. Dining at Chef Russo’s table has
become the benchmark that his customers love and
savoring his culinary delights each time they visit his
restaurants.
Shakey’s Pizza Parlor
2200 W. Valley Blvd
Alhambra, CA 91803
Phone: 626-576-0616
Toll Free: 888-444-6686
Contact: Sonia Barajas-Najera
Website: www.shakeys.com
Year Started: 1954
Total Units: 60 plus 168 international
Smashburger
3900 E. Mexico Ave
Denver, CO 80210
Phone: 303-633-1500
Contact: Adam Biedenbender
Website: www.smashburger.com
Year Started: 2007
Total Units: 350
Company Description: For over six decades,
Shakey’s has been serving up its original thin crust
pizza, crispy fried chicken and signature Mojo®
potatoes alongside an array of popular beers on tap,
all in a fun, relaxed atmosphere. Our classic game
rooms, big screen TVs, and community tables make
Shakey’s a favorite celebration spot for any occasion.
Shakey’s continues to retained an incredible
awareness worldwide with over 200 restaurants in
the US, Mexico, Philippines, Japan, and Singapore.
Company Description: Smashburger is the country’s
fastest growing, fast casual “better burger”
restaurant. Its hand-crafted burgers are made
with fresh, never frozen, 100% Certified Angus
Beef, that are “smashed”, seared and seasoned
on the grill to juicy perfection for every individual
order. Smashburger operates and develops both
corporate and Multi-unit franchise territories across
the country with over 350 restaurants nationwide.
Smashburger topped the Forbes Most Promising
Company list in 2011 and was also named to the 2011
Inc. 500 list. To learn more, visit www.smashburger/
franchising.com.
The Joint Chiropractic
16767 N. Perimeter Dr., Suite 240
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
Phone: 480-725-2503
Contact: Carol Lee
Website: www.thejoint.com/franchise
Year Started: 2010
Total Units: 250+
40
Company Description: The Joint Chiropractic is
reinventing chiropractic care by making quality
alternative healthcare affordable for patients
seeking pain relief and ongoing wellness. Our
membership plans and packages eliminate the
need for insurance, and our no-appointment policy,
convenient hours and locations make care more
accessible. The Joint performs more than two
million spinal adjustments a year across 250+ clinics
nationwide. For more information, visit thejoint.com/
franchise.
The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc.
7886 Woodland Center Blvd.
Tampa, FL 33020
Phone: 813-425-6208
Toll Free: 800-783-0867 x105
Contact: Christina Hobbs
Website: www.meltingpotfranchise.com
Year Started: 1975
Total Units: 126
Company Description: The Melting Pot operates
more than 125 restaurants in six countries and has
15 locations in development internationally. Founded
in 1975, The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc. is the
premier fondue restaurant franchise and the #1
casual dining brand in the 2015 NRN Consumer Picks
survey. Guests enjoy a choice of fondue cooking
styles and a variety of unique entrees combined
with dipping sauces. The menu also includes cheese
fondues, salads, wines and chocolate fondue
desserts.
Tide Dry Cleaners
2 Procter & Gamble Plaza
Cincinnati, OH 45202
Phone: 513-739-6106
Toll Free: 888-446-2734
Contact: Stuart Williams
Website: www.tidedrycleaners.com/franchising
Year Started: 2008
Total Units: 38
Company Description: For decades, people
have trusted the Tide brand for its reliability and
dependability. Now, the Tide name brings instant
recognition and credibility to consumers ready to
trust their dry cleaning to the recognized leader in
fabric care. Tide Dry Cleaners, changing dry cleaning
for good!
Togo’s Eateries Inc.
18 N San Pedro Street
San Jose, CA 95510
Phone: 707-307-3755
Toll Free: 877-718-6467
Contact: Kim Rogers
Website: www.togosfranchise.com
Year Started: 1971
Total Units: 251
Company Description: For more than 40 years,
Togo’s has been the original West Coast sandwich
franchise and has been serving big, made-to-order
sandwiches stuffed with the freshest ingredients.
During these four decades, we’ve developed an
extremely loyal guest following and have grown to
over 250 restaurants throughout the West.
uBreakiFix
1806 33rd Street
Orlando, FL 32839
Phone: 877-320-2237 x2019
Contact: Todd Evans
Website: www.ubreakifix.com
Year Started: 2009
Total Units: 140
Company Description: uBreakiFix is a consumer
electronics repair company based out of Orlando,
FL that specializes in refurbishing and restoring
smartphones, tablets, computers, and gaming
consoles in a fast and friendly manner. We pride
ourselves in providing expert repair services at
sleek, clean, and welcoming locations. uBreakiFix
was founded in 2009 by two friends in their living
room as an online based mail-in repair business. Six
short years later, we have blossomed to 240 stores
currently in operation and in development across the
United States, Canada, and the Caribbean.
WineStyles Tasting Station
5515 Mills Civic Pkwy #120
West Des Moines, IA 50266
Phone: 515-224-9463
Toll Free: 866-946-3258
Contact: Andrea McGinness
Website: www.winefranchise.com
Year Started: 2012
Total Units: 21
Company Description: We’re more than a wine
shop. Uncork your dream business with WineStyles
Tasting Station. Our leading franchise concept is a
retail store and wine bar hybrid that also serves up
craft beer and small plates with a one-of-a-kind,
clubhouse experience. Franchisees benefit from
Multiiple revenue streams, including monthly wine
and beer club memberships, a customer loyalty
program, plus an assortment of wine accessories
and gift baskets. Development opportunities are now
available across the U.S.
Zaxby's Franchising, Inc.
1040 Founder's Boulevard, Suite 300
Athens, GA 30606
Phone: 706-353-8107
Toll Free: 877-892-9297
Contact: Tray Doster
Website: www.zaxbysfranchising.com
Year Started: 1994
Total Units: 750+
Company Description: Zaxby’s offers fresh,
42
prepared-at-order chicken fingers, wings,
sandwiches and salads in a fun, quick-casual family
environment. Zaxby’s founders Zach McLeroy & Tony
Townley looked around their community and saw
plenty of fast food or sit-down dining options but felt
that something was missing. They decided to provide
the freshest chicken fingers and Buffalo wings in
town. That hatched a simple idea to create a fun
atmosphere.
The 243-page reference book that answers all your questions;
including the ones you didn’t know you had ...
Franchise Times has been covering franchising for more than a
decade and a half, and we know the pitfalls, the successes and the
information you need to make an informed decision on whether to
leave your “day job” to become a franchise owner. Our Guide could be
called a text book, except that it’s written in a lively style using stories
from real-life franchisees who have taken the plunge, along with
advice from the experts. Here’s just a sample of questions, we answer:
ReviseD eDition
• Find your perfect fit
• Investigate the business
before you buy
• Secure financing
• Market for success
• Discover tomorrow’s
hottest trends
• Financing Primer
Julie Bennett
Foreword by
Multi-unit Franchisee Aziz Hashim
Author
Julie Bennett
(Franchise Times
freelance writer)
Foreword
Aziz Hashim
(Mulit-unit franchisee and
2016 Chairman of the
International Franchise
Association)
How does franchising work
Do I know if I have what it takes to be a franchisee?
What’s out there besides food franchises
How do I check out a franchise
How much can I make with a franchise
How do I find financing
What’s a Discovery Day and why is it important
What kind of support can I expect
How do I find a site
What do I do if things don’t work out
pages 7-11
pages 13-19
pages 26-70
pages 116-128
page 122
pages 142-152
page 129
page 155
pages 159-163
pages 192-197
reAD A cHAPter oN us
“This book is like no other resource you will find; it
simply doesn’t pull any punches. I wish it had been
around when I began my quest. It would have saved
many, many mistakes and a lot of heartaches.”
—Aziz Hashim, CEO of NRD Holdings
Available Now For Purchase
Price: $79.00
Chapter nine
CheCkInG OuT YOuR FRAnChISe OF ChOICe
Now that you’ve read through one (or several) Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs) and asked
the franchise salesperson questions about sections that concerned you, it’s time to start a serious investigation of the franchise system (or systems) you like best. This phase is called due diligence, but we like to
think of it as high-stakes detective work.
Once you sign a contract, you and the franchisor are “married” for the next 10 to 20 years. But
this contract comes with stiff divorce provisions. If you want to close your unit and move on to something
more attractive, you are still liable for all the obligations you pledged to in the Franchise Agreement, including monthly royalty payments (see Chapter 11). And because you’ve learned the franchisor’s proprietary recipes, training methods and/or operations secrets, you’re not allowed to open a competing business
for a specified number of years.
It’s important to know as much as you can about the franchise company and the people running it
before making any decisions. Do they pay their bills? Are they respected in the industry? Have any of the
major players been involved in previous business failures? Thanks to the Internet, finding out such basic
information is fairly easy.
CheCkInG OuT The FRAnChISOR OnlIne
Take a good look at franchisors’ website and
marketing materials. Do their promises match what
you’ve learned about the company through the FDD
and discussions with the salesperson? Do they project
an image you’re comfortable with?
look for problems—news stories
about units closing, lawsuits from
suppliers, information about acquisitions
or major expansions that, as far as you
know, never happened.
Go to Google and type in the name of the franchise company. By now, you’re aware of the franchisor’s good points, because they’ve been repeated to
you many times by the franchise salesperson and are highlighted in the brochures he or she has sent you.
Ignore links to all the soft news stories about how much the franchisor is contributing to a local charity
and announcements that the franchisor has opened yet another unit somewhere. Look for problems—news
stories about units closing, lawsuits from suppliers, information about acquisitions or major expansions
that, as far as you know, never happened. Has the franchisor been involved in legal matters since its FDD
was printed? Find and print out press releases about new executive hires, because they may unearth a pattern of firings as well. Don’t stop after the first few Google pages; negative information may not show up
until the 25th or 30th page of citings. When you’re finished, set up a Google News Alert, so that its search
engine can send fresh news about the franchisor directly to your email.
Now go to the websites of local newspapers in or near the franchisor’s corporate headquarters
(you can find them at www.newsdirectory.com) and do the same thing. Other sources of information
are the American Business Journals published in many major cities (www.bizjournals.com). National
franchisors may be mentioned in articles in the New York Times (www.nytimes.com) or The Wall Street
116 Franchise Times Guide To Selecting, Buying & Owning a Franchise
®
44
Journal (www.wsj.com). Is the franchisor under investigation by the Federal Trade Commission? Go to
www.ftc.gov and type the franchisor’s name into the search engine to find out.
When I’m investigating a company for Franchise Times, I sometimes do an even more thorough
search of news stories on LexisNexis, the online research tool developed for lawyers by Reed Elsevier
Inc., headquartered in the Netherlands. For details, go to www.lexisnexis.com. But be careful. Each article
you order costs about $3.00.
If the franchisor is publicly traded, you can find a wealth of information in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) via www.sec.gov. If you type the franchisor’s stock symbol
into Yahoo! Finance, you’ll find stock charts, links to current news stories and places where you can order
stock analyst reports.
Depending on the industry the franchisor is in, you can also search trade publications. Again, you
may have to pay for full articles.
Is the franchisor a member of the International Franchise Association trade group? Members are
listed at www.franchise.org. Young systems sometimes can’t afford IFA dues, and are too busy getting
started to get involved in anything else. But if an older franchise is not a member, make a note to ask
why. However, note that there are good reasons not to be a member. While at the site, you can sign up for
the IFA’s “SmartBrief,” a daily online newsletter than contains links to news stories about franchisors or
issues concerning franchising.
In the past, you had to be a business member to check on the financial status of another company
via a Dun & Bradstreet report. Now all you need is a credit card. To see if the franchisor is paying its bills,
go to www.dnb.com/us and order a report. Have complaints against the franchisor or its franchisees been
filed with the Better Business Bureau? Go to www.bbb.org to find out.
Several franchise blogs allow franchisees and customers to share information on franchise companies online. Read postings with a grain of salt. While many tend to be filed by cranky franchisees, you
may learn something about the franchisor by checking them out. Certainly, if a blog or chat board has
a lot of negative information about the franchisor you’re investigating, you should get in touch with the
bloggers for more details. Like most blogs, franchise blogs are transitory. Search for new ones on Google.
Some sites, including Franchise Chat (www.franchise-chat.com) link to franchise-related news stories
from around the world.
The BIGGeST MISTAkeS PeOPle MAke When ShOPPInG FOR A FRAnChISe
• Mistaking a great product for a franchise system where individual franchisees can make a
profit.
• Mistaking longevity for success. Just because the same quick-service franchise has been in
the same place for several years doesn’t mean the franchisee is successful. The franchisor
may be replacing failing franchisees with new ones every few years.
Franchise Times Guide To Selecting, Buying & Owning a Franchise
®
117
• Believing fast growth means the current franchisees are making money. The franchisor
may be devoting all its resources to selling more units, not supporting current franchisees.
• Overestimating how much money they’ll make, often based on promises from franchise
salespeople.
• Underestimating how much capital they’ll need to get started.
• Not doing enough preliminary research.
• Getting so lost in research minutiae they never make a decision.
CheCkInG OuT The PeOPle RunnInG The FRAnChISe
Item 2 of the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) provides mini-profiles of the franchisor’s
key executives. Do they have previous experience in franchising? In their franchise’s industry? Look carefully at where they worked before. Sometimes several executives of one franchise company leave to start
a new one. This isn’t necessarily bad, but do find out what happened to their original employer.
Some FDDs include enough detailed information that you can look for job gaps, while others simply list other places the executives have worked. Pick up the press releases you printed out about executive
hirings. Does the information match up with what’s in the profiles?
Turn to Item 4 in the FDD to see if any of the key players filed for bankruptcy. If someone did,
was another franchise company involved? Make a note to ask about the bankruptcy while you’re attending
Discovery Day or when you’re next talking to a franchisor’s salesperson.
You’re now ready to run Internet searches on key executives. Unless something in another profile
jumps out, you can limit this search to the chief executive officer and/or president, the chief financial
officer, the chief operations officer and the person in charge of franchise development. Again, start with
Google, but this time your search will be faster, because you’ll probably find only a handful of links for
each one. You can also search newspapers and business journals in the cities where their previous employers are located. If they worked for public companies, the executives may be mentioned in The Wall Street
Journal articles or on the websites of business publications like Fortune or Businessweek.
Again, you’re only looking for problems that might impair your future relationship with the franchisor. Once, while investigating a sports-related franchise for an article I was writing, I did an Internet
search on one of its principals and discovered he’d been fired from a coaching position at a public university because of a sexual harassment allegation concerning a student. This is the type of information I’d like
to know before I invested in a franchise whose main customers are children.
®
46
CheCkInG OuT The FRAnChISOR’S InduSTRY
You’re not just marrying a franchisor, you’re also joining a family of companies within a certain
industry, be it restaurants, sign-making, or educational services. Even if the franchisor checks out, how do
you know you’re getting into an industry with staying power? In 20 years, will you, like the Manwarings
of Batteries Plus Bulbs in the story below, have a business you can turn over to your adult children?
Most major industries have associations, like the National Restaurant Association and the National
Association of Realtors, that provide statistics on the industry and predict future trends. There’s a National
Association of Professional Pet Sitters, in Mt. Laurel, New Jersey, whose website (www.petsitters.org)
provides material you can read through as you investigate pet-sitting franchises. Several hobby associations keep statistics you can use while deciding whether to open a HobbyTown USA franchise, and the
National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops has information you should look over before considering
a Children’s Orchard, Plato’s Closet, or other franchise that deals in gently used clothing and wares.
If the industry you’re considering is a big employer, like lodging, you can go to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov) and click on the Occupational Outlook Handbook to study future trends.
Trade publications also provide industry overviews.
Google and national newspaper search engines are useful for articles on trendy industries, like
self-serve frozen yogurt stores and doggy daycare establishments, to see if the segment is still growing.
And every January the International Franchise Association releases its “Franchise Business Economic
Outlook,” in which a major economics firm predicts the near-term outlook for franchising’s 10 main categories.
CheCkInG OuT A neW FRAnChISe SYSTeM
If the franchise you’re looking at is brand new, there may be nothing about it on the Internet to
research, besides checking into the backgrounds of its principals. Before we give you tips on how to evaluate a new franchise, we want to repeat again: Half of all new franchisors fail. And
that statistic is based on research from a few years ago, when fewer than 100 new
Franchisees in
franchisors arrived annually. In 2012, research firm FRANdata found that 228 new
new systems
franchisors had registered to start selling franchises. Even if half of this crop surare always
vives, that means 114 franchises launched in 2012 will be gone by 2018 or sooner.
guinea pigs.
And if you invest in an untested concept, your savings, and possibly your house and
retirement funds, will be gone, too.
“Franchisees in new systems are always guinea pigs,” says franchise attorney Justin Klein of Marks & Klein. “When people come to me because they want to invest in a new system, I tell them what they’re getting into. There’s risk in any business and you never know if a new system
will even work. All you can do is hope that they have the right people in marketing, operations, and other
key positions. Sometimes a young system does do well, if it’s trendy—and very lucky.”
®
119
CASe STudY:
A Guinea Pig Success Story
Susan and Dan Manwaring opened the very first Batteries Plus franchise in Fort Wayne, Indiana, in 1992. “We
were living in Milwaukee,” says Susan, “and Dan played golf with someone who was having problems with
his battery-powered golf cart. The next time they played, the cart was working perfectly, and the man said
he’d finally found the right battery for it at a Batteries Plus store. After Dan lost his corporate job and we’d
moved back home to Indiana, he couldn’t stop thinking about the store that sold only batteries. He called
his old golfing partner for the name and number of the owner. I still have the piece of paper he wrote the
phone number on.”
The owner, Ron Rezetko, had five corporate Batteries Plus stores in Wisconsin and had just registered to start
selling franchises, Susan says. After visiting the company stores and meeting Rezetko and his three corporate employees, the Manwarings signed the company’s first franchise contract. “We pledged everything we
owned to borrow enough money to build a store,” Susan says. “Then Dan took another corporate job—we
had four children and felt someone should have a regular paycheck—and left me to run the store. My background was in business and accounting. I knew nothing about batteries.”
Susan was a fast learner and they opened a second store in 1993. Dan left his job in 1996 and the couple now
operates nine Batteries Plus franchises in Indiana, plus two more in Louisville, Kentucky. “All our kids went to
college and three of our sons are involved in the business,” Susan says.
“We knew it was risky to sign on with a brand-new franchise system,” Susan says. “But we’d researched the
battery industry and knew it was about to take off. Of course, we never imagined where we’d be today, with
cell phones, computers and smart phones. As I think back, we put a lot of trust in Mr. Rezetko, but we felt he
had a lot of integrity and would deliver on his promises.”
Update: Batteries Plus is now Batteries Plus Bulbs, has more than 500 stores and is owned by a private equity
firm, Roark Capital Group of Atlanta. The “Bulbs” in the name refer to light bulbs. Dan says, “Our career has
been pretty amazing. After seeing so many new franchise systems implode since we joined Batteries Plus, I
think the most important factor is that the franchisor must be financially successful. We knew that Mr. Rezetko had a profitable business before he started franchising.”
®
48
Robert Stidham, president of Franchise Dynamics in Illinois, says his company acts as an outsourced sales department for franchisors, including emerging concepts with 10 to 15 franchised and corporate units. He evaluates new systems according to the following considerations, and says he turns away
90% of them. You can use his questions to measure the new systems you’re talking to.
• Does the franchisor offer a unique value proposition? If you
can’t differentiate it from others in its category, there’s no
way to attract and keep customers.
• Is there room for development or growth in its category? “I
can’t see us representing a new burger concept,” Stidham
says, “because there are so many strong national and regional burger brands.”
Sometimes
franchises are
started by nice
people who have
a good idea, but
no management
experience.
• What is the depth and capability of the management team?
What is their experience in other franchises or in the industry they’re entering? Sometimes
franchises are started by nice people, Stidham says, who have a good idea, but no management experience.
• Do they have the money to reinvest consistently to build their business and support their
franchisees? “I’ve had people send in balance sheets that show they have no equity and that
they funded their start-up with debt. They’re looking for your franchise fees to get them out
of debt,” he says.
• Do they offer to meet you at a hotel or fancy restaurant? “If you can’t even go to see their
premises, it scares me,” he says.
• Do all your phone calls go to voicemail? If you can never get a live person now, what will
happen when you’re open and need support? Do they have contracts with equipment vendors and product suppliers? If they haven’t established those relationships yet, something is
wrong with their credit.
Attorney Klein adds another red flag. “I’ve seen FDDs with misspelled words that are stapled together. If the franchisor isn’t taking the time to create professional recruiting documents, how is it going
to generate enough capital to support its franchisees?”
If the young franchise company you’re looking at sent you a neatly bound FDD, has at least 10
franchised units operating, and passes Stidham’s test, then you can move on to the rest of your due diligence detective work. But if it doesn’t, please move on to another concept.
®
121
CheCkInG OuT The FRAnChISOR’S ITeM 19
If the FDD has an Item 19, a Financial Performance Representation, and you haven’t done so already, print it out. The existence of an Item 19 does not mean you’ll immediately see how much money
you can make with a franchise. For starters, the great majority of Item 19s reveal total sales of franchises
open for certain amounts of time—one year, three years, etc.—and not profitability. These numbers may
look impressive, until you start subtracting the cost of labor, rent, supplies, etc. And remember the franchisor’s royalty and ad fees are calculated on those gross sales, whether the franchise made any money or not.
Make sure the Item 19 numbers are based on franchised units, not corporate stores that don’t pay
royalties, says franchise consultant Eric Stites. And check whether the totals in each category are means
or averages. “Especially in a smaller system, averages can be skewed by a handful of high-performing
units,” Stites says.
A good Item 19 breaks down average franchise unit sales per year, then subtracts average expenses, such as the cost of goods sold, labor, rent and other facility expenses, the cost of equipment and
general and administrative expenses to get to EBITDA (earnings before income taxes, depreciation and
amortization). What’s left is the total owner benefit. Numbers may be further broken down according to
the system’s top-, middle- and low-performing franchisees and/or by the number of years franchisees have
been in business.
If that owner benefit looks enticing, does it mean you’ll be making similar money if you open the
same franchise in your community? Perhaps, but you or your accountant must run other numbers first.
Look at Items 5 and 6 in the franchisor’s FDD, which spell out the total fees to join the franchise, including royalties and monthly assessments for technology, back office support and other charges.
Next, Item 7: Estimated Initial Investment is crucial. Print it out and match the franchisor’s suggested numbers with what is available in your area. This works best if you compare Item 7s from one or
two other franchises in the same sector at the same time. Are commercial rents in your town higher or
lower than the franchisors suggest? What about the going rate for hourly workers? If you’re borrowing
money to open the franchise, make sure you add in your monthly debt payments and interest costs. Once
you subtract all the actual expenses you added up from Items 5, 6 and 7 from average total sales, the business owner’s benefit may look much more or less attractive. Or you may discover one of the competing
franchises could be less expensive to run, and therefore more profitable in your community.
Dale Jacobs, a franchisee with Aaron’s Inc., an Atlanta-based franchise that leases computers, furniture and appliances, says studying Aaron’s detailed Item 19 helped him decide to go ahead with plans
to open his first store in rural Kentucky in 2007. “I could see that for the first 24 months, you’re spending
more on inventory than you’re taking in. But once that turns, you start to see a ramp up in earnings,” he
says. Jacobs has since opened four more Aaron’s and signed on for a total of 13 in Kentucky, Tennessee
and Virginia.
If the FDD has no Item 19, you can make a rough estimate of total sales by turning to Item 21:
Financial Statements, and finding the annual royalty income. Let’s say the franchise has 120 franchisees
who pay a 4% royalty for a total of $500,000. Divide $500,000 by 120, to get $4,166 in annual royalties
per unit. Divide that number by 4% to get total sales per unit of $104,150. Or you can just ask current
franchisees what they’re making.
®
50
CheCkInG In WITh CuRRenT FRAnChISeeS
No government report or association survey can give you as much information about a franchise as its current franchisees. If the FDD doesn’t include an Item
19 (Financial Performance Representation), they can tell you how much they make.
They can tell you how quickly the franchise support person answers their calls, how
often the franchisor provides them with new products or services and fresh marketing ideas, and whether the system has an independent franchisee association. They
can also tell you if they’re losing money, if franchise support is weak and if the franchisor makes demands they consider punitive, like insisting they use suppliers that
charge high prices.
The people
who were
answering
my questions
wanted my
contributions to
their regional
ad fund. They
had a dog in
the fight.
The experiences of current franchisees are so vital to your decision that the
franchise salesperson typically points to Item 20 in the FDD, the list of franchised
outlets, and urges you to talk to them. This process is called validation.
But that’s not as easy as it sounds. Franchisees are busy people who don’t have time to chat. Often,
I have less trouble scheduling an interview with a system’s CEO than with one of its franchisees.
Or they may talk, but give you information that’s in their own best interest. If you’re thinking of
opening a unit nearby, franchisees may see you as competition, and tell you they are earning less than they
really are. Or franchisees in an area may want you open a unit nearby, so that you can join their purchasing
co-op or contribute to their marketing fund, and they’ll tell you things are rosier than they really are.
This is what happened to the “Woman Who Leapt Too Soon,” whom we met in Chapter Six. She
says, “I talked to other franchisees in my state, but I don’t feel they gave me a clear picture. My research
was skewed because the people who were answering my questions wanted my contributions to their regional ad fund. They had a dog in the fight.” She says that if the franchisees had been honest about support
issues and other problems, she would not have purchased her franchise.
Michael Liss, a franchise attorney with Liss & Lamar in Oak Brook, Illinois, says you can lessen
the impact of misleading information by talking to a significant number of franchisees. “I tell my clients to
call 60 franchisees,” says Liss. “You’ll find that 20 won’t talk to you, 20 will talk but will be very neutral,
and the last third will talk for half-an-hour to two hours. They’ll invite you to their stores and, when you
get there, show you their books.”
The dAnGeRS In TAkInG ShORT CuTS
An investment banker who had put together large financial transactions for multi-unit franchisees
told me he became intrigued by franchising. “My family owned land that was being developed into a strip
center,” he says, “and I thought a sub sandwich shop would go well there. My daughter-in-law, who had
been a district manager for Wendy’s for 10 years, was ready to go into business with me.”
The banker was approved as a franchisee of a leading sub concept. During his due diligence, he
talked to two franchisees “who told me they were having good experiences,” he says. “But then I started
reading that other franchisees had filed lawsuits against the company. The further I got into it, the more I
®
123
knew what to ask other franchisees. They didn’t want to tell me they were losing their shirts, but when I
calculated their food costs, I knew you couldn’t make any money with this concept. I’m so glad I never
wrote that check.”
SO, ARe YOu MAkInG AnY MOneY?
Obviously, you want to know if the franchise is financially feasible. But you can’t simply call
60 franchisees and ask how much they’re making—first, because it’s rude, and second, because they
won’t tell you until you’ve established some level of
trust. Sometimes competitors will pose as prospective
franchisees to dig up information and sometimes the
Remind them that at one point they,
franchisor will hire “mystery shoppers” to make such
too, were calling existing franchisees about
calls, to see what their franchisees say about the comthe concept and asking the same
kinds of questions.
pany.
Besides, you can’t measure a franchise just
by its profits. The “Woman Who Leapt Too Soon” is
making money, but she still doesn’t recommend her
franchise to anyone who calls. Franchise experts and franchisees offer the following tips for getting honest
information from existing franchisees, including what they are earning:
• Select people from the FDD who won’t feel you’ll be in competition with them. Find franchisees in towns or cities that are similar in size to your own.
• Avoid busy times. And when you do call, your first question should be, “Is this a good time
to talk?”
• Tell them a little about your background, so they’ll know you’re a legitimate caller. Remind
them that at one point they, too, were calling existing franchisees about the concept and
asking the same kinds of questions.
• Ask general questions first: How long have you been a franchisee? Are you still pleased
with your decision?
• If someone is not forthcoming, back off and call the next person on your list.
• If franchisees seem willing to talk, ask about their cost structure: What do you have to pay
for supplies? What do you pay your hourly workers? That way, you can ease them into the
real question of whether they are making any money and, if so, how much.
OTheR ThInGS TO ASk ABOuT
Once you start calling franchisees, you’ll develop your own list of questions, based on what the
first few have told you. If one franchisee says he or she feels the franchisor backed him or her into too expensive a location, for example, you’ll want to ask others about their site selection process. If you uncover
complaints—not enough advertising, new stores opening too close to existing ones, and so on—you’ll
want to see if this is a real problem, or just the perceptions of one or two cranky individuals.
®
52
Here are some questions to get you started:
• How long have you operated your franchise? Why did you choose it?
• What surprised you the most about it after you opened?
• Is it hard finding and hiring employees?
• How did you attract your first customers?
• When did you start breaking even?
• Does the franchisor help you get good prices on products and supplies?
• How do you rate the franchisor’s training program? Support? Marketing programs?
• How often are you in touch with other franchisees? Does the franchisor have an Intranet
where franchisees share ideas? Do you have an independent franchisee association?
• What the hardest thing about running this franchise?
• Would you buy this franchise again?
MORe GRAInS OF SAlT
In the ideal world, every franchisee you reach would answer each question the same way and
you’d know at the end of talking to 40 of them (and trying to reach 20 others) whether this system is the
one or not. That’s not likely to happen. If you call a new franchisee who’s still in the honeymoon phase,
you may get more positive answers than from a franchisee who’s been in the system for a long time and
wondering why he or she is still paying so much in royalties. Newer franchisees welcome frequent visits
from the franchisor’s support team; older franchisees find them intrusive.
You can disregard a handful of complaints, unless they fit into a pattern that might signal serious
problems. You don’t want to toss out a good opportunity because you called franchisees on a bad day.
SeeInG The BOOkS
Ultimately, you’d like a franchisee within reasonable driving distance to invite you into his or
her store and let you go over the business’ financial statements. If you’ve talked to many franchisees and
already know a lot about the system, you’ve established yourself as a credible candidate. Now is the time
to call back a nearby franchisee who was nice to you during your initial phone call and ask about looking
over the books.
It may take some persuasion. People are reluctant to share what they’re earning, either because
they think they should be making more, or because they’re embarrassed they bought a franchise that’s a
loser. You can try this strategy: “We’re all in the same boat. You looked at a franchisee’s financials once
yourself, or wish you had. And I’ll be showing my books to prospective franchisees in a few years, too.” If
the franchisee still turns you down, be very gracious—you may be sitting next to him or her at a regional
ad fund meeting soon—and move on to someone else.
®
125
When you get to look at a franchisee’s books, take careful notes about all revenues and expenses.
If possible, look at several years of financials. You’ll need this information to share with your accountant
before you make a final decision about joining the franchise. And if you do join, the numbers will help you
write the business plan you’ll need to get a loan.
COnTACTInG FRAnChISeeS WhO hAve leFT The SYSTeM
You also want to talk to franchisees who are no longer operating their units.
Did they lose so much money they closed down? Did they have serious disagreements with the franchisor over other issues? Were there health problems or other
personal reasons? Or did they sell their units at a profit and move to golf course
communities in Arizona?
The people who
can have the
most bearing on
your decision
are the hardest
to find.
The people who can have the most bearing on your decision are the hardest
to find. If the FDD lists only franchise unit phone numbers, and that unit is closed, all you’ll get is a recording that the line has been disconnected. You’ll have to play detective, and here are some tips that may help:
• Call 411, or type the person’s name into an online phone directory, to see if you can locate
the franchisee’s home number. If that fails, start calling people in the area with the same last
name. You may locate a brother or an ex-spouse who’s willing to talk and pass on a current
phone number.
• Call other franchisees in your target person’s area and ask if they know what happened, and
how to reach him or her.
• Use reverse telephone directories to locate the businesses near the franchisee’s old location,
and call them. Someone may know what happened.
I simply went
into this wihout
enough capital
to stay open.
It’s the biggest
regret of my life.
•
Try Google first, and then search local newspapers for clues. You may find
an old press release or news story about the franchisee’s Grand Opening that includes valuable clues, like a spouse’s name and occupation, the community organizations the franchisee belongs to, and more.
Even if you do manage to reach a former franchisee, you may not learn
anything. Sometimes a franchisor will let unhappy franchisees out of its system
without penalty, if they promise not to talk about it. Or the ex-franchisees may be
so disheartened, or embarrassed, they won’t talk to you. Be persistent, because
sometimes there’s an unexpected payoff. I once tracked down a former franchisee
of a sports training concept who told me, “The concept is terrific and I’ve never met such high-quality
people. I simply went into this without enough capital to stay open. It’s the biggest regret of my life.”
®
54
CheCkInG OuT A FRAnChISe FROM The PARkInG lOT
If there’s a location of the franchise you like nearby, you can figure out how much business it does
by...spying. If it’s a concept with a retail location,
like a store, restaurant, or business services franchise,
park your car where you can see the unit’s front door.
Check out the attitude of the people behind
the
counter and running the cash registers.
Make notes about how many people go in and out in
Are they pleasant?
an hour or two. Are they carrying anything away? Do
they look satisfied, or do some of them seem angry?
Go inside and act like a customer. Ask the
manager how business is and when it’s the busiest. Check out the attitude of the people behind the counter
and running the cash registers. Are they pleasant? Surly employees can be the fault of an individual operator or can reflect the culture of an entire system. Are the shelves well-stocked? Is the food served hot?
If it’s a home-based concept or a service business run out of an industrial park, call up and ask how
soon you can get its service—your house cleaned or painted, your dog washed, or your basement cracks
sealed. If they’re not busy, and can get to you tomorrow morning at nine, there may not be enough demand
for you to open another unit of this franchise.
Do a competitive analysis. Check out the competitors’ locations in the same way, or call competing
service businesses. Do they seem busier? Or are they the ones with the surly employees?
If there’s no competition in the area, will there be by the time you open? Drive through strip malls
and look for “Coming Soon” signs. Go to the websites of your chosen franchisor’s competitors and see if
they flag your area as one to soon be served by its concept.
Ask your potential franchisor for demographic information about the territory you’re considering.
Who are the potential customers? Are there enough of them in your area, or should you negotiate for a
larger territory?
Every community has a finite number of customers. Before you invest in a franchise, even one that
current franchisees love to operate, you must feel secure that you’ll have enough business to keep it going.
TRYInG The FRAnChISe On
A few franchisors, including McDonald’s, require you to work in
existing units before they qualify you to buy a franchise. Even if it’s not
a requirement, the best way to know if you’re suited to run a franchise is
to work in one first.
Working for free in
another owner’s store
was the best investment I
ever made.
Several franchisees have told me that working for free in another owner’s store “was the best investment I ever made.”
Besides getting experience, you’ll gain insight into how the business operates and how it makes
money. And when you open, you’ll be a better franchisee. Nancy Love says because she worked in anothFranchise Times Guide To Selecting, Buying & Owning a Franchise
®
127
er HoneyBaked Ham store for six months before she and her husband opened theirs, she “hit the ground
running.”
If you mention taking time out of your search to work in someone else’s franchise to your salesperson or broker, they will probably try to talk you out of it. Remember, they won’t get paid until you sign
a franchise agreement.
But if you can afford it, call a franchisee in the area and offer to work in his or her unit for at least
a week, even if you’re just answering the phone and mopping the floor. You’ll pick up great information,
plus, if you join the franchise, a grateful new colleague.
OTheR TIPS FOR InveSTIGATInG A FRAnChISe
You may be able to extend your search by attending franchise-industry events or reading proprietary material. Here are some suggestions for investigating franchises through these channels:
• Ask if you can attend a national convention or regional franchisee meeting to see if the franchisees are people like you. While there, ask them what they would have done differently if
they were looking at the concept today.
• Ask your salesperson to send you links to or copies of company newsletters. Often they
feature profiles of top-performing franchisees. Do you share some of their traits? Their
backgrounds?
• The American Association of Franchisees and Dealers in San Diego (www.AAFD.org) is a
nonprofit trade association that represents the interests of franchisees. The AAFD has developed what it calls the Standards of Fair Franchising and awards a Fair Franchising Seal
to franchisors that comply. Is the franchise you’re looking at a member?
• Ask your salesperson if the system’s franchisees have been surveyed for their level of
satisfaction. Two companies—FranSurvey in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Franchise Business
Review in Portsmouth, New Hampshire—now survey franchisees about their experiences
with their franchisors. The surveys are sanctioned by franchisors, which have the choice of
making the results public or not. If the franchise system you’re looking at scored well on its
franchisee satisfaction survey, the salesperson has probably told you so several times. But if
it did not score well, there may be problems you’d rather not jump into.
• Check out publications on the Franchise Business Review’s website
(www.franchisebusinessreview.com) and download publications like ‘Top Franchises for
2014” or “Top Low-Cost Franchises.” Is the system you’re investigating listed? Besides
listing concepts that rate high in franchisee satisfaction, the reports include current information on franchise categories.
As we’ve seen, joining a franchise finally becomes a leap of faith. But spending a week or two
learning as much as you can about a system and its principals gives you the best chance of landing on your
feet.
®
56
INDEX
AUTO RELATED
Auto Parts/Retail
Big O Tires
Midas
25
35
Auto Rental
JD Byrider
33
Auto Sales and Finance
JD Byrider
33
Servicing/Maintenance/Repair/Oil
Change
Big O Tires
Midas
Fitness/Health Products, Spa/Day Spa
Services
9 Round Franchising, LLC
24
The Joint Chiropractic
40
Home Health Services
Always Best Care Senior Services
25
Senior Care
Always Best Care Senior Services
25
HOSPITALITY RELATED/LEISURE
25
35
BUSINESS SERVICES
Hotel/Motel
Bar Louie 25
PET/ANIMAL RELATED
Business Supplies
29
General Service/Repair/Exterior
Maintenance
HomeVestors of America
32
Interior Cleaning Services
Coverall Health-Based Cleaning System
28
Beverage
Brothers Est. 1967® Bar & Grill
26
Staffing/Recruiting Services
Express Employment Professionals
29
Buffet/Grill Restaurant
31
Casual Restaurant
Bar Louie
Broken Yolk Brothers Est. 1967® Bar & Grill
Denny’s
Giordano’s
Jimmy’s Egg
LaRosa’s Inc.
Shakey’s Pizza Parlor
The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc.
25
26
26
28
31
32
34
34
37
40
41
Fast/Casual Restaurant
Del Taco
Fazoli’s
Firehouse Subs
Fuddruckers
Little Caesar’s Pizza
Miami Grill Moe’s Southwest Grill
Pie Five Pizza Co.
PizzaRev Franchising LLC
28
29
30
31
34
35
35
36
38
38
CONSUMER SERVICES
Dry Cleaning/Laundering Services
Tide Dry Cleaners 41
Home Improvement/Repair/Maintenance
32
Mosquito Joe
36
Pool Scouts
39
Pest Control
Mosquito Joe
36
Real Estate
32
Retail
uBreakiFix
42
HEALTH/BEAUTY RELATED
Fitness Centers
9Round Franchising, LLC
Fitness Evolution www.Franchisetimes.com
24
30
Retail
Pet Supplies Plus 37
RESTAURANT/FOOD RELATED
Pizza Schmizza
Russo’s New York Pizzeria
Smashburger
Zaxby’s Franchising, Inc.
38
39
39
40
42
Family Restaurant
Huddle House Restaurants LaRosa’s Inc.
Shakey’s Pizza Parlor The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc.
31
32
33
34
37
40
41
QSR
Captain D’s
Carl’s Jr. Restaurants
Checkers Drive In Restaurants, Inc.
Church’s Chicken
Del Taco
Figaro’s Pizza
Firehouse Subs
Hardee’s Restaurants
Hot Dog On A Stick
Little Caesars Pizza
Papa John’s International, Inc.
Papa Murphy’s
ToGo’s Eateries Inc.
Zaxby’s Franchising, Inc.
26
27
27
27
28
30
30
32
33
34
35
36
37
39
41
42
RETAIL
42
RETAIL RELATED
Furniture
AARON’S
24
Health & Nutrition
The Joint Chiropractic 40
Signs
29
Specialty Retail
AARON’S
Pet Supplies Plus
24
37
42
November 14-16, 2016 | Bellagio, Las Vegas
FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 800-528-3296
www.restfinance.com
So You Want To Own A Franchise
Whats Next?
Register Today for Your Complimentary Pass!
June 16-18, 2016
Javits Center - New York City
Where Experienced Business Owners Meet Experienced Businesses
Register today for FREE with promo code: EXPERIENCED
www.BeTheBoss.com
Experience...
• 400+ Franchise Opportunities
• 70+ Educational Sessions
• Unprecedented Access
to Key Decision Makers
Take Control of Your Future
at The 25th Annual
International Franchise Expo

franchise opportunities for the experienced

Transcription

Similar documents

multi-unit franchises take on dominant role

FRANCHISE APPLICATION FORM - Frankfinn Institute of Air

success story

Franchising Magazine

fourwin franchise - Treo Engineering

flyer

File

Brochure - Lizotte

The Cheesecake Factory franchise plan - e

Franchise - Rotary International District 3310