The Buffalo News Business Today reports that the Syracuse-based company that is the largest single owner of Burger King franchises is standing by the chain’s promotion of a cut-rate double cheeseburger, and is not participating in an uprising being mounted by many other franchisees. The National Franchisees Association, on behalf of 850 other Burger King operators around the country, has filed a lawsuit against the Miami-based Burger King Holdings Inc., protesting the corporation’s insistence that its franchisees offer double cheeseburgers for $1.
The Denver Business Journal reports that four class-action lawsuits brought by Quiznos franchisees against the Denver-based sandwich-shop chain have been settled, the company and the plaintiffs’ law firms said Monday. Chicago-based U.S. District Judge Rebecca Pallmeyer gave preliminary approval to a settlement agreement of the suits, which originally were brought in Colorado, Wisconsin and Illinois and which have been pending for up to three years.
Christa Hoyland writes in QSR.com that Marianne Cintron of Glendora, Calif., thought she had done her homework. When she and her husband looked into buying a Cold Stone Creamery store from a franchisee last year, she started by trying to talk to a number of current franchisees. Of the five who returned her calls, four were selling their stores. Despite the unusually high percentage of sellers, Cintron was reassured by the good things most of them had to say about the concept.
DDIFO has been invited by a number franchise owners in a number of cities to come and meet franchise owners face to face. I am visiting Dunkin’ Donuts franchise owners around the country in an effort to learn more about your issues and concerns as well as share with you the vision and mission of DDIFO. The meetings have resulted in many franchise owners joining DDIFO. DDIFO welcomes 100’s of new shops as members from the following states: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Florida, and Georgia.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Burger King Corp. has aggressively pushed its $1 double cheeseburger to attract price-conscious consumers, but the chain’s franchisees say the value pricing is costing them money. The National Franchisee Association, a Kennesaw-based group that represents more than 80 percent of U.S. franchised Burger Kings, filed a lawsuit this week against Burger King, a Miami, Fla.,-based chain, over pricing issues. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, seeks to prevent Burger King from dictating maximum pricing for the franchisees.
Holly Sanders Ware and Josh Kosman report in the NY Post that Dunkin’ Brands is reaching out to angry franchisees they write: Dunkin’ Brands, accused of squeezing profits out of franchisees by suing them, is trying to make friends before it’s too late. Chief Executive Nigel Travis has been quietly meeting with angry franchise leaders in recent weeks, after a spate of unflattering reports about the doughnut chain’s litigious ways, sources with direct knowledge of the meetings saidTravis has told franchisees he is willing to take a fresh look at their contracts and would consider changes that give operators more say over their stores, sources said.
On February 3-4, 2010 DDIFO Legislative Affairs Coordinator Rob Branca will be in Washington representing the DDIFO at the second annual CFA Day (Coalition of Franchisee Associations). “I’m really looking forward to getting together with other operators from other franchise systems and with our elected officials and their staffs to discuss important legislation,” said Branca. “It’s important that we bring our perspective to these folks and discuss how new laws and reforms will impact our businesses.”
Considering her personal and professional background, it is no wonder that Massachusetts State Representative Linda Dorcena Forry is a true friend and champion of small business owners. From her beginnings as the daughter of Haitian immigrants through her college career and into her decade-plus career in city and state government, Rep. Forry consistently has demonstrated a passion for education, community and public service.
Rajiv K. Trivedi writes an interesting article on Compliance in the September 2009 issue of Franchising World, which is a publication of the IFA (International Franchise Association), an association of franchisors.
Todd Owen, Qdoba’s vice president of franchise development, tells QSR about how the more-than-500-unit Mexican chain uses multi-concept franchisees to grow its business and what the chain’s strategy is to attract the best franchisees.
