The 2017 Multi-Unit 50: Ranking the Most Multi-Friendly Brands

Multi-brand franchising is a growing phenomenon. Some franchisees are not content with operating one brand so they add one, two, three, or more other brands to their portfolios. Our annual Multi-Brand 50 issue provides data supplied by FRANdata that gives insight to this growing operational approach. Here are this year's rankings of the country's largest multi-brand operators, along with the brands they've chosen.
Top 50 Brands by Number of Multi-Unit Franchisees
|
RANK |
BRAND |
MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEES |
SINGLE-UNIT FRANCHISEES |
TOTAL FRANCHISEES |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
SUBWAY |
4,186 |
4,033 |
8,219 |
|
2 |
MCDONALD'S |
2,070 |
435 |
2,505 |
|
3 |
DUNKIN' DONUTS |
1,179 |
773 |
1,952 |
|
4 |
LIBERTY TAX SERVICE |
810 |
972 |
1,782 |
|
5 |
THE UPS STORE |
801 |
2,359 |
3,160 |
|
6 |
AFC (ADVANCED FRESH CONCEPTS) |
778 |
1,544 |
2,322 |
|
7 |
H&R BLOCK |
720 |
792 |
1,512 |
|
8 |
LITTLE CAESARS |
709 |
75 |
784 |
|
9 |
DAIRY QUEEN |
600 |
2,135 |
2,735 |
|
10 |
GREAT CLIPS |
565 |
359 |
924 |
|
11 |
DOMINO'S |
544 |
307 |
851 |
|
12 |
HEALTH MART PHARMACY |
535 |
2,934 |
3,469 |
|
13 |
RE/MAX |
516 |
1,896 |
2,412 |
|
14 |
BURGER KING |
507 |
403 |
910 |
|
15 |
ACE HARDWARE |
506 |
2,600 |
3,106 |
|
16 |
FIREHOUSE SUBS |
469 |
19 |
488 |
|
17 |
VISION SOURCE |
425 |
2,235 |
2,660 |
|
18 |
JACKSON HEWITT TAX SERVICE |
416 |
142 |
558 |
|
19 |
JIMMY JOHN'S |
403 |
322 |
725 |
|
20 |
TACO BELL |
370 |
327 |
697 |
|
21 |
CENTURY 21 |
359 |
908 |
1,267 |
|
22 |
ANYTIME FITNESS |
349 |
1,433 |
1,782 |
|
23 |
KFC |
343 |
526 |
869 |
|
24 |
WENDY'S |
329 |
242 |
571 |
|
25 |
HISSHO SUSHI |
318 |
10 |
328 |
|
26 |
SPORT CLIPS |
307 |
151 |
458 |
|
27 |
COUNTRY INN & SUITES BY CARLSON |
273 |
78 |
351 |
|
28 |
PAPA JOHN'S |
272 |
443 |
715 |
|
29 |
DUNKIN' DONUT/BASKIN-ROBBINS COMBO |
256 |
237 |
493 |
|
30 |
PAPA MURPHY'S |
254 |
286 |
540 |
|
31 |
EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS |
252 |
304 |
556 |
|
32 |
COLDWELL BANKER |
248 |
509 |
757 |
|
33 |
FANTASTIC SAMS |
222 |
315 |
537 |
|
34 |
CHICK-FIL-A |
215 |
1,261 |
1,476 |
|
34 |
SONIC DRIVE-IN |
215 |
322 |
537 |
|
36 |
GNC |
211 |
294 |
505 |
|
37 |
SUPERCUTS |
208 |
150 |
358 |
|
38 |
DQ TREAT |
207 |
873 |
1,080 |
|
39 |
JERSEY MIKE'S SUBS |
198 |
196 |
394 |
|
40 |
ARBY'S |
192 |
134 |
326 |
|
41 |
BASKIN-ROBBINS |
191 |
620 |
811 |
|
42 |
PIZZA HUT |
178 |
122 |
300 |
|
43 |
COLD STONE CREAMERY |
176 |
410 |
586 |
|
44 |
AUNTIE ANNE'S |
172 |
295 |
467 |
|
45 |
MIDAS |
166 |
272 |
438 |
|
45 |
POPEYES LOUISIANA KITCHEN |
166 |
552 |
718 |
|
47 |
ZAXBY'S |
164 |
30 |
194 |
|
48 |
JIFFY LUBE |
147 |
163 |
310 |
|
48 |
KUMON |
147 |
1,188 |
1,335 |
|
50 |
MIRACLE-EAR |
143 |
25 |
168 |
Top 50 Brands by Percentage of Multi-Unit Franchisees
|
RANK |
BRAND |
% MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEES |
# MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEES |
# SINGLE-UNIT FRANCHISEES |
TOTAL # FRANCHISEES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
PANERA BREAD |
100.00% |
28 |
0 |
28 |
|
2 |
FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES |
97.60% |
122 |
3 |
125 |
|
3 |
GATEWAY NEWSTANDS |
97.26% |
71 |
2 |
73 |
|
4 |
HISSHO SUSHI |
96.95% |
318 |
10 |
328 |
|
5 |
APPLEBEE'S |
96.88% |
31 |
1 |
32 |
|
6 |
PANCHEROS MEXICAN GRILL |
96.67% |
29 |
1 |
30 |
|
7 |
FIREHOUSE SUBS |
96.11% |
469 |
19 |
488 |
|
8 |
SAM'S HOT DOG STAND |
96.00% |
24 |
1 |
25 |
|
9 |
BOJANGLES' |
94.94% |
75 |
4 |
79 |
|
10 |
JACK IN THE BOX |
91.00% |
91 |
9 |
100 |
|
11 |
LITTLE CAESARS |
90.43% |
709 |
75 |
784 |
|
12 |
CAPTAIN D'S |
90.00% |
63 |
7 |
70 |
|
13 |
WORLD OF BEER |
89.66% |
26 |
3 |
29 |
|
14 |
BRUEGGER'S BAGELS |
89.29% |
25 |
3 |
28 |
|
14 |
PALM BEACH TAN |
89.29% |
25 |
3 |
28 |
|
16 |
THE LITTLE GYM |
86.54% |
135 |
21 |
156 |
|
17 |
MIRACLE-EAR |
85.12% |
143 |
25 |
168 |
|
18 |
ZAXBY'S |
84.54% |
164 |
30 |
194 |
|
19 |
MCDONALD'S |
82.63% |
2,070 |
435 |
2,505 |
|
20 |
JIMMY’S PIZZA |
82.14% |
23 |
5 |
28 |
|
20 |
SWEET FACTORY |
82.14% |
23 |
5 |
28 |
|
22 |
GRANDY'S |
81.82% |
27 |
6 |
33 |
|
23 |
PASSPORT HEALTH |
81.40% |
35 |
8 |
43 |
|
24 |
HERTZ |
79.55% |
35 |
9 |
44 |
|
25 |
SIMPLE SIMON'S PIZZA |
78.13% |
100 |
28 |
128 |
|
26 |
COUNTRY INN & SUITES BY CARLSON |
77.78% |
273 |
78 |
351 |
|
27 |
HUNTINGTON LEARNING CENTER |
76.30% |
132 |
41 |
173 |
|
28 |
RADISSON |
76.09% |
70 |
22 |
92 |
|
29 |
BARBERITOS |
75.86% |
22 |
7 |
29 |
|
29 |
BUDDY'S HOME FURNISHINGS |
75.86% |
22 |
7 |
29 |
|
31 |
AARON'S |
75.25% |
76 |
25 |
101 |
|
32 |
FRESHII |
75.00% |
39 |
13 |
52 |
|
32 |
RALLY'S |
75.00% |
24 |
8 |
32 |
|
34 |
JACKSON HEWITT TAX SERVICE |
74.55% |
416 |
142 |
558 |
|
35 |
GODFATHER'S PIZZA |
73.45% |
130 |
47 |
177 |
|
36 |
PLANET FITNESS |
72.49% |
137 |
52 |
189 |
|
37 |
CARL'S JR. |
72.32% |
81 |
31 |
112 |
|
38 |
SUN TAN CITY |
70.00% |
28 |
12 |
40 |
|
39 |
VALVOLINE INSTANT OIL CHANGE |
68.75% |
55 |
25 |
80 |
|
40 |
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS REAL ESTATE |
68.66% |
46 |
21 |
67 |
|
41 |
COST CUTTERS FAMILY HAIR SALON |
68.57% |
48 |
22 |
70 |
|
42 |
SPORT CLIPS |
67.03% |
307 |
151 |
458 |
|
43 |
HARDEE'S |
66.40% |
83 |
42 |
125 |
|
44 |
DUTCH BROS. |
66.22% |
49 |
25 |
74 |
|
45 |
PACLEASE |
66.10% |
39 |
20 |
59 |
|
46 |
DENNY'S |
65.89% |
141 |
73 |
214 |
|
47 |
PENN STATION EAST COAST SUBS |
65.48% |
55 |
29 |
84 |
|
48 |
CHECKERS |
64.76% |
68 |
37 |
105 |
|
49 |
MCALISTER'S DELI |
64.71% |
33 |
18 |
51 |
|
50 |
DOMINO'S |
63.92% |
544 |
307 |
851 |
Source: FRANdata. Brands with 25 or fewer franchisees were excluded.
Share this Feature
Recommended Reading:
FRANCHISE TOPICS
- Multi-Unit Franchising
- Get Started in Franchising
- Franchise Growth
- Franchise Operations
- Open New Units
- Franchise Leadership
- Franchise Marketing
- Technology
- Franchise Law
- Franchise Awards
- Franchise Rankings
- Franchise Trends
- Franchise Development
- Featured Franchise Stories
FEATURED IN

Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine: Issue 3, 2017
$200,000
$750,000



The multi-unit franchise opportunities listed above are not related to or endorsed by Multi-Unit Franchisee or Franchise Update Media Group. We are not engaged in, supporting, or endorsing any specific franchise, business opportunity, company or individual. No statement in this site is to be construed as a recommendation. We encourage prospective franchise buyers to perform extensive due diligence when considering a franchise opportunity.