franchise opportunities

Franchises Look To Veterans To Fill Ranks

2006-12-03T15:06:00.000-08:00

Franchises look to veterans to fill ranks

By DARRELL SMITH
November 29, 2006

Stanley White could very well be the poster child of the military veteran-turned-franchise owner.

After a six-year U.S. Army stint in the mid-1990s, White became a highly successful insurance salesman, hitting a six-figure income by the time he was 30.

The Sunlink.com
By 2005, however, he was restless. His long commute, the hours missed as a husband and father to two growing boys and the desire to 'do my own thing' - all nagged at him.

'I wanted to run my own business,' White said. 'I wanted to do a 180, go crazy and jump off the cliff all the way.'

That kind of abandon took some careful planning. In August, after more than a year of research, he dove into small-business ownership, opening his own Cartridge World outlet, an ink-cartridge refill company tucked into a small shopping center.

White, 35, is among the growing force of military veterans who've plunged into the world of franchise ownership, thanks in part to the franchise industry's nationwide push to recruit more vets.

Franchise opportunities in the pharmacy business

2006-11-12T20:13:00.000-08:00

The consolidation of the drugstore industry pushed hundreds of independent pharmacies out of business during the last 20 years.

Unable to fight off bigger competitors, many pharmacists running neighborhood shops closed their businesses or sold their prescription files to one chain or another.

But some independent pharmacists continued on, competing against the big chains just as business owners do in other retail sectors.

The independents dispense 1.6 billion prescriptions annually, about 42 percent of all prescriptions, according to the National Community Pharmacists Associations in Alexandria, Va.

But independent-minded people in some retail sectors _ such as the restaurant, automotive and hotel industries _ have an alternative to going it alone that hasn't always been a viable option for pharmacists: franchising.

Franchise networks give otherwise independent businesses the power of volume. They can buy inventory in bulk, combine back-office functions and share advertising costs.

If you want to run a coffee shop, you can open a Dunkin' Donuts or a Honey Dew Donuts franchise.

Like getting your hands greasy? You can open an AAMCO Transmissions garage.

You're a fitness nut? Try Curves, to round up customers.

Like animals? You can be best friend to man's best friend by owning a Pet Butler
http://www.rocklintoday.com/news/templates/business_news.asp?articleid=4173&zoneid=3

IHOP hits Waikiki starting June 13

2006-06-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

IHOP hits Waikiki starting June 13
Another IHOP planned for Windward Mall faces delays
By Alyssa S. Navares
anavares@starbulletin.com

Oahu residents craving IHOP pancakes will soon be indulged with the opening of the first IHOP in Waikiki. The restaurant is scheduled to open June 13 in the Ohana Waikiki Malia Hotel on Kuhio Avenue.

"I'm glad to be a part of such a strong demand for pancakes," franchise holder Vince Espino said.

Espino and his wife, Sarah, who is president of Hawaii-based Union MAK Corp., moved from San Francisco to open the new Waikiki IHOP. Although restaurant hours have not been determined, 24-hour operation is a possibility.

"I love pancakes so much that I sometimes have pancake get-togethers at my house," local resident Michael Sakaba said. "Now my friends and I will have a new place to eat pancakes."

The Waikiki IHOP may be the only franchise to open on Oahu this year, IHOP spokesman Don Miller said.

Plans submitted for an IHOP at Windward Mall failed to meet several federal and state regulations, and the restaurant's opening has been delayed.

According to franchisee Rennie West, no contractor has been hired for the Windward Mall IHOP yet, but the blueprints have been drawn. West, who also owns the IHOP in Kahului, Maui, applied for a building permit last July.

Once West submits plans with the necessary agency approvals to the city, a building permit can be issued that day, said Honolulu building division chief Timothy Hue.

"It really is not typical for a store to take this long to open," said Windward Mall marketing manager Sherri Coronas.

Many people stop by or call Windward Mall's management office with questions about IHOP's status. Coronas said she tells them that the project has been "put on hold."

Working across from the IHOP site, Local Motion employee Mallory Tavares is often asked the same question.

"It's been pretty frustrating, especially since I have no idea when they will open," Tavares said. "I don't think anyone knows, not even the owner."

http://starbulletin.com/2006/06/03/business/story01.html

halal subs

2006-05-20T19:57:00.001-07:00

Chron.com | Fast-food chains tap halal market
ISELIN, N.J. - There's just one place in North America where an observant Muslim can follow Jared's diet — the two-sandwich-a-day plan that helped Subway pitchman Jared Fogel lose 245 pounds.

The Subway restaurant that adheres to Islamic restrictions is off Route 27 here, and it is indiscernible from other Subways, except for a neon green sign in the window spelling out 'Halal,' the Islamic equivalent of kosher.

In the two years that she has served halal food at her Subway, Ruhila Khan has built a following from all over the area. The success can be seen in the Sales Volume awards on the wall behind the register.

'I don't have enough space to hang up all of them,' Khan said, smiling. 'I did something for Allah, and he has blessed us.'

Makes business sense
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Cereality On The Move

2006-05-18T11:53:00.000-07:00

Cereality Cereal Bar & Cafe(R) Partners With Dodge to Drive Cereal Sales:

Dodge Sprinter Vans Upfitted as Cereal Cafes on Wheels Creating Innovative Franchising and Promotional Opportunities

CHICAGO, May 15 -- Cereality Cereal Bar & Cafe(R) today announced that it has teamed up with Dodge to create a unique mobile format for bringing their 'All cereal. All day. All ways.(TM)' promise to customers everywhere; it's also a unique opportunity for the company's prospective franchisees.

With the introduction of the new 'Cereality Sprinter,' a fully outfitted Cereality Cereal Bar and Cafe on wheels, cereal lovers everywhere can get their favorite hot or cold cereal combinations, distinctive cereal-based bakery and snack items, hot and cold beverages and other standard cafe menu offerings in an even more convenient fashion.

'We wanted to create a cereal-based version of the much-loved neighborhood ice cream truck, where we could take our 'Always Saturday Morning(TM)' experience right to our customers where they live, work and play at any time of day or night-showing up at special events, schools, office parks and sporting venues,' said David Roth, Cereality's CEO. 'And from a business perspective, the fully customized Dodge Sprinter van is also a quick and effective way for our prospective...
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Cereality

2006-05-04T14:45:00.000-07:00

Article Link Hudson Star Observer
FRANCHISING -- Crunch time for your mouth
By CARYN ROUSSEAU
Published Monday, May 01, 2006

Usually when a trend gets the kind of buzz that Cereality restaurants received two years ago, the idea explodes and it's just a matter of months before it becomes an also-mentioned on one of VH1's string of 'remember when' shows.

But not Cereality, thanks to shrewd co-founders David Roth and Rick Bacher, who have refined their business plan in the three years since the opening of their first restaurants -- kitsch storefronts that serve custom combos of 30 cereals and 40 toppings. Now they're ready for their next move. Coming later this year: franchises.

'What you're going to see from this point forward is a limited number of big company-owned stores in certain cities,' Roth said last week, sitting in his Chicago financial district store amid the din of the breakfast rush. 'Then the whole country blanketed with Cerealities. We'll be in malls. We'll be in airports. We'll be in downtown urban corridors and big in the suburbs.'

With more than 6,000 franchise requests since the first shop opened at Arizona State University, Cereality won't be hurting to fill the demand, Roth said. Interest has come from every state, Canada and the United Kingdom.
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IHOP

2006-04-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

IHOP's Profit Surges on Franchise Revenue - Los Angeles Times:
From the Associated Press
April 27, 2006

IHOP Corp., which owns and franchises IHOP restaurants, said its first-quarter profit rose 25%, aided by higher franchise revenue, lower restaurant expenses and other costs.

Results breezed past analyst estimates, sending shares of the Glendale-based company up 80 cents to $47.10.

For the quarter ended March 31, IHOP reported net income of $12.6 million, or 68 cents a share, compared with $10.1 million, or 50 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 3.1% to $88.5 million.

Wall Street had forecast a profit of 54 cents a share on sales of $88.2 million, according to Thomson Financial.

Sales in restaurants open at least one year, a closely watched performance gauge called same-store sales, rose 5.1%.

IHOP credited the profit rise to improvement in franchise operations, driven by higher same-store sales. It also attributed the quarter's results to reduced general and administrative expenses and a lower number of outstanding shares after share buybacks.

The company forecast 2006 earnings of $2.25 to $2.35 a share, including stock option and other expenses. Analysts' consensus view for the year is $2.37 a share.

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1st Anchor Bar franchise will be in N.C.

2006-04-25T16:30:00.000-07:00

1st Anchor Bar franchise will be in N.C.
Six months after launching its franchise concept, the famous Anchor Bar has signed its first development agreement.

Carlson Foods has been granted the rights to market Anchor Bar restaurants in the state of North Carolina. Buffalo's Anchor Bar is considered the originator of chicken wings.

Carlson Foods operates some three dozen Arby's restaurants as well as two eateries in Chautauqua County -- the Wing City Grille in Fredonia, and The Casino in Bemus Point.

Financial terms of the franchise deal were not disclosed.

The first Anchor Bar in Charlotte is expected to open in November.

'We looked at many parts of the country and believe strongly that North Carolina is ideal for us,' said Carlson.

The Anchor Bar is marketing three variations of restaurants under its franchising plan -- a replica of its original Buffalo operation; a smaller version called Anchor Bar-In-Line, and; a third fast-food derivation, Anchor Bar-to-Go.
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Being your own boss

2006-04-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

Growing occupation: being your own boss - baltimoresun.com

Patricia Stefun lost her warehouse job when Giant Food downsized last year and wants to make sure that history doesn't repeat itself. Her solution?

Become her own boss.

'This is my way of never having this happen to me [again]', Stefun said yesterday as she began to peruse the various franchise opportunities on display at the Maryland Franchise Expo 2006.

The expo, which included about a dozen franchises that are seeking to expand their base in Maryland, showcased some newer and lower-priced operations, as opposed to businesses like McDonald's or Subway.

For Stefun, who has been reading finance books and researching different businesses, the expo at the BWI Marriott in Linthicum was a way to get more ideas for her plan of owning her own small business.

And it's a plan that an increasing number of business people have for themselves.

Nearly 94,000 businesses had fewer than 20 workers in 2003, the most recent year that statistics were available from the agency's Office of Advocacy. That's up from about 87,500 in 1995. And the Small Business Development Center's monthly Smart Start Your Business seminar has been so booked lately that officials there say they've had to turn people away."

KFC in China

2006-04-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

KFC seeks major franchise expansion in China

SHANGHAI (AFP) - American fast-food chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has relaxed franchising rules in China to boost its expansion in the world's most populous country, state press reported.

KFC, a unit of Yum! Brands Inc of the United States, said its franchise fees would fall to as low as two million yuan (250,000 dollars) compared to a previous minimum of eight million yuan, the Shanghai Daily said.

The largest fast-food chain in China wants to open franchise businesses in all Chinese cities, the newspaper reported.

However major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Suzhou and Wuxi, where the company runs restaurants with local partners, are excluded, as is Zhejiang province in eastern China where franchise business is not allowed, the newspaper said.

Dominick Morizio, KFC franchise development director, told the newspaper that the company was acting on increased interest from investors after location limits and capital requirements had dampened expansion.

KFC, which entered China in 1987, runs only 37 franchised restaurants out of its 1,700 restaurants in the country, well below its five percent ceiling.

Yum!, which also operates Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, will open 375 new establishments.....
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(ClickPress) What is hot in franchising presented by Editor of Franchise Times

2006-04-23T09:31:00.000-07:00

What is hot in franchising presented by Editor of Franchise Times

[ClickPress, Tue Apr 04 2006] 'What is hot in franchising' is the topic for the upcoming New England Franchise Business Network (NEFBN) event scheduled for Tuesday, May 9, 6-9 p.m. and to be held at the Sheraton Braintree Hotel, 37 Forbes Road, Braintree, MA.

Nancy Weingartner, Managing Editor, Franchise Times will expand upon the topic. Franchise Times is a highly regarded, business-trade publication known for its extensive editorial coverage of both franchisor and franchisee issues.

Franchise Times Corp. inherited Nancy in 1998 when it bought Franchise Times from Crain Communications and Continental Franchise Review, a Denver-based newsletter Nancy edited. She became Franchise Times’ managing editor in 2002.

Nancy will speak about what’s hot in franchising, what the future holds and lessons learned from franchising’s past. She’ll also address ways companies and individuals can tap into the media’s short-little attention span, and how to generate positive press and....
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Franchising Success

2006-04-23T09:24:00.000-07:00

Communication key to success
Seminar teaches franchising secrets

Dave Burge
El Paso Times
Friday, April 21, 2006

A franchise relationship is like a marriage, said a Jack in the Box vice president who was the keynote speaker Thursday on the opening day of the UTEP Franchise Center's spring seminar.

'There are good ones, and some end in divorce,' said Michael Bamrick, division vice president for franchise operations for a fast-food retailer, Jack in the Box.

Bamrick said a successful franchise relationship involves trust and lots of communication between the corporation selling franchises and its individual franchise owners.

'It's communication, communication, communication,' he said.

Bamrick spoke to about 50 conference attendees, who came from El Paso, elsewhere in Texas and New Mexico and as far away as Kentucky, South Carolina and France.

The goal of the seminar is to teach people how to make intelligent decisions on whether to invest in franchising, said Carolyn Gough, executive director for the University of Texas at El Paso's Franchise Center.
'We give both sides of the story -- what franchises to avoid and what to look for in a successful franchise and how to do research,' Gough said.

El Pasoan Hugo Sandoval and his wife, Esther Chavez, are...
read the artice here: El Paso Times - Business

How to profit on the franchise path - The Boston Globe

2006-04-23T09:21:00.000-07:00

How to profit on the franchise path - The Boston Globe
Buying in is just one small step in process

By Orange County Register | April 23, 2006

Grant Fawcett had worked for his family's six McDonald's franchises. So when he was looking at business ownership last year, he and wife Amy, another McDonald's franchising veteran, chose franchising.

They bought the master franchise to build or franchise as many as 27 Apple Spice Junctions to provide box lunches and catering to corporations in Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties in California. The first is in Irvine, Calif.

Hundreds of thousands of people like the Fawcetts own franchises sold through 2,300 companies in 100 different industries. And that is just in the United States.

Franchising..... read article by following link above.