Franchise Pundit franchise opinion and research

GAME, the European and Australian retail gaming giant with over 1,200 outlets similar to USA’s GameStop and Play n Trade, filed for Bankruptcy. GAME has 600 hundred stores in the UK with a £15 million rent bill per quarter and a £10 million wage bill per month. Would their reach be more effective with only a few marquee retail stores and the ... Read More »

  What a sad story. Giordano’s is a leader and well-known institution in Chicago’s stuffed crust pizza game. It owns 10 corporate  stores and manages 35 franchised locations in Illinois and Florida.  Somehow this chain, where people (often tourists) stand in long line for an overrated $20 deep dish pizza, owed $45 million to a lender and had to file ... Read More »

I didn’t see this one coming. Planet Smoothie is solid brand with a loyal customer base. I hope Planet Smoothie received a significant premium in this acquisition by Tasti D-Lite, and the existing franchisees have some protections. Tasti D-Lite was acquired by a private equity firm in 2007 majority owned by Jim Amos, who promptly appointed himself CEO after the ... Read More »

When a franchisee fails, you don’t often see the franchisor swoop in and take over the lease and operate failed location, but Graeter’s is doing just that in Kentucky. Graeter’s corporate is acquiring several stores like it did for another franchisee back in late 2010. Sales were reported in a broker’s sheet to be in excess of $3 million for ... Read More »

I’ve seen several Crepe restaurant + cafes lately start up in the USA.   I don’t think they’ll be successful like their cousins in Canada and Europe.  It just doesn’t make that good of a sandwich wrap for the American palate and people aren’t used to eating the dessert crepes with Nutella and sprinkled sugar.  If anyone could pull it ... Read More »

last edited: December 7, 2011, 9pm [added recommendation on beer & wine]; also edited on December 13, 2010, 1:05am [improved a few poorly worded sentences] I’ve noticed several franchised “Urban Flats Flatbread & Wine Co.” closing this year in the southeast, such as Orlando FL, Winter Park FL, Lawrenceville GA,  and Atlanta GA (pictured to the right).  Something clearly isn’t resonating ... Read More »

DineEquity, owner of Applebees and IHOP brands, is trying smartly trying to avoid discounting their menu like the rest of industry. Their strategy to get customers in the door focus on appealing healthy “skillets” price at $9+ which currently make up about 10% of sales. The “2 for $20″ deal of an appetizer and two entrees now makes up 18% ... Read More »

I spoke with a former franchisee of Nrgize, a smoothie bar by Kahala Corp of Stone Cold Creamery fame.  Nrgize has very good tasting healthy smoothies and complementary healthy foods. The franchisee was open for about a year before closing its doors.  The location was in a popular suburban fitness center.  At first, the thought of exposure to all the ... Read More »

[updated so moved back to the top] Founded in 1999, Spicy Pickle is not have a good run.  In 2008 the company’s income was $4.4 million but their expenses were $10 million, for a loss $5.6 million.  In 2009 income was $4.1 million, and they slashed expenses and payroll to $6.1 million, for a loss of $2 million.  They now ... Read More »

What’s could be worse for Play N Trade and Gamestop than Walmart competing against you in the resale market? Game platform manufactures switching to download-only platforms, so there are no discs or cartridges to buy or re-sell. Read More »

This article details the legal disputes and subsequent law suit between franchisor Quaker Steak & Lube and a franchisee in Pennsylvania.  The franchisee claimed: [franchisor] lied to him about the restaurant’s prospects for profitability; approved too large a restaurant for the State College market; forced him to use a select list of food vendors and menu choices that hurt his chances ... Read More »

Amazon.com introduced used game trading in March 2009, and now Best Buy is testing video game trade ins.  Competition isn’t always a bad thing, but in this instance Game Stop and Play N’ Trade’s sales are going to be heavily diluted. Below was Game Stop’s response in the Best Buy article: GameStop spokesman Chris Olivera declined to comment specifically on Best Buy’s ... Read More »

NexCen Brands is the franchisor for Great American Cookies, MaggieMoo’s, Marble Slab Creamery, Pretzelmaker and Pretzel Time.  The recently opened up a research and development facility for their restaurant concepts.  At first glance, this looks great, despite it being a tiny 1,200 square feet.   My nitpicking then creeped in.  Here are a few issues I see: The manager of ... Read More »

The franchise Liquid Capital provides businesses with short-term financing that is secured by receivables.  Think payday loans for businesses, cash now secured by reliable future income.  A fictitious example of this works would be my law firm – clients typically pay their legal bills as late as possible, so if I needed a reliable inflow of cash each month, I could ... Read More »

Most restaurants are experiencing a decline in sales and customer traffic.  Unless you can obtain a 40% off lease deal, I would recommend holding off on restraurant related franchises until your targeted customer group spending escalates.  The cost of the franchise will likely be the same now as it would be in upcoming years when hopefully the economy is better, so ... Read More »

Current CEO Rick Shaden in a Fox Business interview talks about his competition with Subway and the new torpedo sandwich.  A few notes: Blames slowdown on “economy and increased costs” Says customers want cheaper sandwiches Touts the $4 Torpedo sandwich, claims it is the “first portable sub”, “modern sandwich” Head to head to Subway, more innovative and edgy Frames Quiznos as a ... Read More »