Franchise Pundit franchise opinion and research

Papa Johns is again offering incentives to new franchisees this year. This looks to be the same as last year. There are tight timing issues with opening to hit the incentives qualificaitons. No franchise fee ($25,000 value); $50,000 in equipment, including two Middleby-Marshall ovens, which may be purchased by the franchisee for $50 after operating for three years; A royalty ... Read More »

I am sorry about the days of downtime. It is now fixed! Read More »

Are you a franchisee thinking about how to best fund college for your children? Your research will quickly lead you to 529 plans, and in my opinion and experience as a purchaser it is probably the best option for college savings. You will also hear about Coverdale Education Savings Accounts but for tax complications and low investment levels it is ... Read More »

I was told at the National Restaurant Association show in Chiacgo a few weeks ago that GE was no longer underwriting franchisee loans. I guess the speaker in that breakout session was wrong as they just provided $4.1 million in debt and line of credit to a 14-unit Jimmy Johns franchisee in Kansas. http://www.marketwatch.com/story/ge-capital-franchise-finance-provides-41-million-to-jimmy-johns-franchisee-hinz-jj-llc-2012-05-16 Read More »

Here is a partial list of franchisors that have filed bankruptcy, or are reported near filing bankruptcy recently. Perkins Marie Callender’s Old Country Buffet Real Mex Restaurants Giordano’s Cork and Olive Dial-a-Mattress Bally Total Fitness Friendly’s Souper Salad Sbarro Dippin’ Dots The Little Gym Fatburger (A little controversial -Fatburger parent company not part of bankruptcy, but the two subsidiaries accounted for 72% its total ... Read More »

I’m upgrading the forum software to deal with the recent influx of spam postings. Sorry for the inconvenience. Feel free to email me using the “contact” page to ask me any questions that you may want me to discuss, or open up for discussion, on the main blog here. – Ryan Knoll FranchisePundit.com Read More »

Larger fitness clubs are seeing a drop in membership, and former fast growth clubs are turning flat to negative. This is not just happening in the USA, but also in Australia where giant Fitness First is seeing a decline in membership. Fitness First has turned flat to negative, with increased competition from Anytime Fitness, personal trainers and low cost rivals. ... Read More »

The discussion forums are back up for people to ask questions and get responses from me and the community. I had to restore with a copy from earlier in the year, so I apologize if I lost your post. Thanks for your patience! Read More »

I apologize for the forum being down for so long. I will install a backup and get it functioning again. There is a lot of great content in there. On a similar note, I had a new son born a few months ago which has absorbed most of my spare time. I will resume regular posting in mid-August. Thank you ... Read More »

Dear Franchise Pundit readers, Sorry for the sudden downtime for the past few weeks.  I had a problem with my web host and had to make a sudden switch, and I had a new baby boy born!  My head is back in the game and I’ll work to get things updated.   I had to use a backup of the web ... Read More »

Starbucks changed its iconic logo. The most noticeable change is removing the Starbucks name and making it a bit more simple. It’s a bold move. I’m not sure how many people know that female image is actually the Starbuck’s logo. I’m sure it will work just fine and they have the research to back up this decision. What do you ... Read More »

Hopefully the promotion of Michael Roeper to COO of Quiznos will help the franchisee’s profitability. Roeper owned several Quiznos units in Chicago from 2000-2006. SOURCE Read More »

An Indianapolis, IN area Dominos pizza franchisee had sales of $6 million across three units but kept the 7% sales tax for himself. Eventually the state of Indiana found out about it and shut him down. I know it’s tempting to keep the sales tax, but how could you expect not to get caught? Read More »

Leveraging people and assets across multiple operating businesses is what enables most companies to make money, including franchisees.    The leveraging action turns what would otherwise be an individual, high-overhead and high-risk investment into a portfolio of lower-overhead and risk-managed investments. In a previous job I worked for a commercial real estate investment and management company.   The company made ... Read More »

Nick Lanni, the founder of Great Steak & Potato Co. (founded in 1982, sold in 2004 with 260 locations), is starting a new sandwich concept at my alma mater, Miami University in Oxford, OH. The concept is called “SoHi Grilled Sandwiches” and is supposed to be a fresh grilled build-your-own cheese steak and burger place. Coincidentally, his sons started the ... Read More »

Average unit sales were $1.4 million per company-owned Jack in the Box location and $900,000 per Qdoba system location in fiscal 2009. source: Morningstar Read More »