A best and worst of franchising list is tricky to put together. The methodology is just as important as the objective of the ranking. For the FORBES “best” and “worst” in franchising, FRANdata considered demand for the franchise brand, success of existing franchisees and franchisor support from the perspective of “lender friendliness”. This brings up […]
Equity Extraction Schemes Live On in Franchising
The equity extraction scheme that was exposed by 7-11 Employee Kurt McCord brings back painful memories for me. The scheme is eerily similar to what was perpetrated against Dunkin’ Donuts franchisees from 1998 thru 2008. In that period it is estimated that Dunkin’ Brands extracted over $100 million dollars of franchisee equity from hundreds of […]
Franchise Owners Beware: Despite The Myths, Franchises Can Fail
Bruce Kennedy, Benzinga Staff Writer reports that the recent Chapter 11 filings of two national restaurant chains, Sbarro and Quiznos, are drawing new focus on the opportunities and challenges faced by franchises. U.S. Census Bureau data from 2007 showed franchise businesses employed over 58 million U.S. residents, while bringing in revenues, sales, shipments or receipts of over $7.6 billion. And […]
Quiznos Goes Bankrupt My Three Observations and One Possible Salvation
Quiznos filed for bankruptcy late last week. Interesting enough the Quiznos franchise chains troubles at a time when similar sandwich franchises like Subway and others seem to be thriving. Serious flaws and seemingly fraudulent practices in the Quiznos’ business model led to the company’s demise. Here are my basic three observations for the chains seemingly […]