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COVER STORY
Unless a person wearing a Bill Blass suit, on a break from shopping for Waverly curtains, walks in her athletic shoes (bought from The Athlete’s Foot) into a Maggie Moo’s (or a Marble Slab Creamery) for some ice cream to go with her Pretzel Time pretzel (or it could be from Pretzelmaker), it’s difficult to imagine all of these brands in the same sentence—let alone under the same brand management company. |  |
FRANCHISE FOCUS
Automotive
Franchising is not common in the car wash industry, and nor is there any big nationwide player. Some companies are aiming to change that
With a green alien as a calling card, the Texas-based franchise wants franchisees who can handle the detailing.
Simple idea solves problem for motorcycle riders
Tim Brewer hopes to do for motorcycles what quick-lube shops did for the automobile.
Tech know-how, cool gadgets fuel aftermarket franchises
Despite high gas costs and languishing sales among the big U.S. automakers, Americans remain infatuated with their cars, and that is fueling a $267 billion industry that is showing no signs of braking.
Billiards
A growing number of people are turning their love of billiards into a business by running franchised leagues
Development Agreements
New Strategy
As many as 1 out of every 10 franchisors stop accepting applications for new franchisees. Their reasons vary as much as the concepts themselves.
Newcomers
Before they opened their second location, Steve Hester’s home served as the family-run Hester Painting & Decorating downtown showroom. “My wife got tired of people tramping through her house,” Steve Hester says, grinning.
The franchisor of Mama Fu’s and Shane’s Rib Shack is taking aim at breakfast with Flying Biscuit
Checking back on Delbe Home Services and PrePlayed Entertainment
Retail
Between 2003 and 2006 The Athlete’s Foot was sold, declared bankruptcy, shut down more than 100 of its own stores, sold 32 stores, laid off more than 1,000 workers and was sold again. Yet Jim Bronson hardly felt a twinge.
PEOPLE
Executive Ladder
Franchising's movers and shakers
People
If attorney James Wilson ever meets a risk-adverse client, he has some poignant advice culled from his own life: “What’s the worst that can happen—you die? Well, then you just get back up and keep going. At least that’s been my experience.”
By day Keith Gerson heads Puroclean, a disaster restoration franchise, and at night he can be found on stage as the leader of the band, Crazy Talk. But Gerson doesn’t see the dichotomy. To him leading a musical team has taught him the skills necessary for business.
David Smith only does things he’s passionate about. And, the 38-year-old COO has two companies, multiple outdoor activities and a family that all fire him up.
Lessons we learn from our parents are sometimes second nature. We find ourselves applying those teachings to business, with great success.
UPFRONT
Currents
Last winter, Doug Hibbing, president of Cuppy’s Coffee and More in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, learned about blogs the hard way.
How minimum wage hike impacts you
You may already be paying more than the federal minimum wage, but that doesn’t mean the increases passed this summer won’t have a big impact on you and other operators around the country.
International House of Applebee’s
Julia Stewart is widely given credit for resurrecting IHOP—where she was a server as a teenager—is now looking to do the same with the nation’s largest casual-dining chain—where she was an executive during its late-1990s heyday. IHOP, where Stewart is CEO, wants to buy Applebee’s for $2.1 billion in an all-cash deal.
Personalties
When we first asked Debra Vilchis, chief operating officer of Fishman Public Relations, if she’d be our featured personality this month, she turned us down. But we wouldn’t let her off the hook.
Up Front
Put collector-quality wine, entrepreneurs and a wine auctioneer who is both a sommelier and a dealmaker in a room in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and what do you get? $28,000 for the International Franchise Association’s FranPAC, its lobbying arm.
Excuse me: The real reason workers are late to work
According to a recent CareerBuilder.com survey, 12 percent of hospitality workers say they arrive late to work at least once per week.
When it comes to fast food, restroom cleanliness is almost as important as the food.
Sona MedSpa’s story of the perils and burdens of litigation (Franchise Times, August 2007) omits two critical facts
Sun Capital buys Boston Market—On the heels of its acquisition of Friendly’s Ice Cream, Florida-based private equity firm Sun Capital Partners bought the 630-unit Boston Market from McDonald’s last month.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Finance
Each September, when thoughts turn to budgeting for the next fiscal year, here at Franchise Times we amass a list of banks, finance companies, private equity firms, brokers and the like and document them in these pages. For both franchisor and franchisee alike, what’s listed here could be as good as gold.
Imagine being able to offer your franchisees the opportunity to obtain large long-term, no-interest loans to invest in their businesses, without any risk or major investment on your part. Sound too good to be true? Read on. .
The franchise world needs credit. The tightened credit market could send ripples throughout the industry.
Need to buy equipment? Leasing can be a viable alternative, but there are important issues to consider before taking that step.
Not that long ago, so many public companies had been sold to private equity firms that one wondered whether there would be any public companies left over to even have a stock market.
Volatility is alive and well in the market this summer. Into July the Dow was repeatedly pushing to new all-time highs, breaking the psychologically important 14,000-point barrier and igniting the kind of “How high can it go?” speculation that was rampant during the dot-com bubble.
Q&A with Rod Guinn, Wells Fargo Foothill
BIZ WISE
Et Cetera
September 2007 Crossword Puzzle Answers
Executive Ladder
This will not surprise the three people who made up my foursome at a recent golf tourney last November, but when my swing was digitally compared to Annika Sorenstam, thought to be the best woman golfer today, there was no comparison. She won hands up.
Human Resources
Talk to a few hundred foodservice multi-unit managers over the course of a year and you’ll get more than a few hundred insights about the business.
Marketing
Yard signs don’t influence Craig Drurey when he’s voting for president or his local city council. But yard signs did influence his job selection: general manager of a Marco’s Pizza in Barberton, Ohio
Trade shows are a great venue to showcase your business through media. A successful trade show program should have a strong public relations component, enabling the maximization of positive media coverage in relevant outlets to your business. A complete plan will have recruitment, preparation, execution and follow-up procedures working together to highlight your business in the media.
When it comes to franchise sales, one of the most hotly debated questions involves whether or not franchisors should sell franchises to entrepreneurs. Many franchisors—including some that are well-established—believe this is precisely the kind of franchise prospect they are seeking, while franchise consultants, lawyers, and others who don’t sell franchises for a living will argue that managing entrepreneurs is like herding cats.
Operations
Retailers and restaurants are facing many economic challenges. Here are some tips for heading them off.
Publisher's Column
I've just returned from a visit to my hometown for my high school reunion. Let’s not get into nasty little details, such as how many years. (About 10 or so, by the way.)
Technology
Long-term success depends not just on incremental innovation but on game-changing breakthrough innovation. Yet such events are rare and can be hampered by companies themselves
September technology briefs
LEGAL
CFR
USA Baby founder sues CEO for violation of shareholders’ agreement
USA Baby is facing legal action on several fronts, including investigations from at least three state attorneys general.
International
When last this column visited the subject of franchise legislation in Canada (“The United States and Canada: Reversing Roles?” Franchise Times, October 2005), I observed: Something funny is certainly going on.
Legal
Imitation is not always the greatest form of flattery and other advertising faux pas
Advertising is important for any business, but it is filled with legal pitfalls. Here’s how to avoid them.
