The Coalition of Franchisee Associations (CFA) recently held its annual Legal Symposium in Las Vegas. Even with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Legal Symposium enjoyed its highest attendance since the CFA began the annual program in 2015, featuring franchisees from 33 national brands. A featured speaker was Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who is…
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April 22, 2021 marked day four of Dealmakers Week, presented by Franchise Times. It was also the day the magazine announced its 2020 Deal of the Year. Not surprisingly, the award went to Inspire Brands for its $11.3 billion purchase of Dunkin’ Brands. On hand to receive the award was David Pipes, Inspire Brands chief…
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New Dunkin’ owner Inspire Brands is not only one of the largest restaurant companies in the world, it also wants to be a leader in the collection, analysis and use of data. To that end, Inspire’s CEO Paul Brown recently created a new corporate position. Navin Sharma, a senior executive with Inspire since 2018, is…
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What franchisees should remember about Dunkin’s prior history as a private-equity-owned brand For many, 2020 will be a year to forget. But for the restaurant conglomerate Inspire Brands, it will be a year to remember. Having spent billions to acquire Dunkin’ and Baskin Robbins, Inspire has a tall – or Grande – order to fill:…
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When Independent Joe reached out to industry-watchers to get their reaction to the Inspire Brands $11 billion purchase of Dunkin’, we heard terms like “stratospheric” and “through the roof” used to describe the $106.50 per share price Inspire agreed to pay for the Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins flag. Jonathan Maze, editor of Restaurant Business magazine, put…
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According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHA), travel on U.S. roads fell nearly 40 percent in April 2020 compared to the previous April, dropping to the lowest point in 25 years. FHA notes the Northeast region saw the largest drop in miles driven. As COVID-19 upended life’s typical routines – like commuting to work –…
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In late May, with cities and states loosening shelter-in-place restrictions brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, Dunkin’ Brands announced it was ready to examine how to best reopen its seating areas. In a blog post dated May 29, Dunkin’ wrote, “We are now exploring the most judicious ways to once again offer in-restaurant dining,” emphasizing,…
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Few of today’s Dunkin’ franchisees can say they’ve been with the brand for 50 years. And only one (that we know of) has logged more than 20 years at both Dunkin’ Brands and as a franchisee. So, when it came time to talk about the evolution of Dunkin’ Donuts, it was an easy decision to…
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In mid-January, the law firm Paris Ackerman announced the acquisition and financing of 47 Dunkin’ franchised restaurants in Southeast Florida. That came a week after the firm announced the acquisition and financing of 11 Dunkin’s – and five parcels of real estate – in New York. At the end of January, the firm announced it…
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The Gaylord Opryland Hotel has a long and storied history. Initially designed to emulate a southern estate, the Opryland Hotel opened to much fanfare on Thanksgiving Day, 1977. During the 1980s, the property expanded in size by two acres and added more than 1,200 guest rooms, a garden conservatory and waterfalls. And in the 1990s,…
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