The 2018 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 2018'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 |
4,151 |
3,773 |
7,924 |
2 |
MCDONALD’S |
1,996 |
385 |
2,381 |
3 |
DUNKIN’ DONUTS |
1,042 |
519 |
1,561 |
4 |
THE UPS STORE |
818 |
2,311 |
3,129 |
5 |
AFC (ADVANCED FRESH CONCEPTS) |
784 |
1,727 |
2,511 |
6 |
LIBERTY TAX SERVICE |
732 |
939 |
1,671 |
7 |
LITTLE CAESARS |
725 |
92 |
817 |
8 |
H&R BLOCK |
668 |
771 |
1,439 |
9 |
DQ GRILL & CHILL/DQ TREAT |
625 |
1,807 |
2,432 |
10 |
GREAT CLIPS |
580 |
350 |
930 |
11 |
HEALTH MART PHARMACY |
574 |
3,030 |
3,604 |
12 |
ACE HARDWARE |
530 |
2,544 |
3,074 |
13 |
DOMINO’S PIZZA |
522 |
272 |
794 |
14 |
FIREHOUSE SUBS |
494 |
18 |
512 |
15 |
BURGER KING |
473 |
389 |
862 |
16 |
BASKIN-ROBBINS |
451 |
817 |
1,268 |
17 |
VISION SOURCE |
433 |
2,263 |
2,696 |
18 |
JIMMY JOHN’S |
426 |
343 |
769 |
19 |
HISSHO |
418 |
17 |
435 |
20 |
JACKSON HEWITT TAX SERVICE |
413 |
145 |
558 |
21 |
CENTURY 21 |
355 |
848 |
1,203 |
22 |
TACO BELL |
343 |
344 |
687 |
23 |
SPORT CLIPS |
320 |
139 |
459 |
24 |
KFC |
302 |
461 |
763 |
25 |
ANYTIME FITNESS |
279 |
1,523 |
1,802 |
26 |
WENDY’S |
273 |
152 |
425 |
27 |
PAPA JOHN’S |
272 |
443 |
715 |
28 |
EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS |
262 |
297 |
559 |
29 |
PAPA MURPHY’S |
250 |
263 |
513 |
30 |
COLDWELL BANKER |
247 |
542 |
789 |
31 |
SUPERCUTS |
240 |
140 |
380 |
32 |
JERSEY MIKE’S SUBS |
234 |
191 |
425 |
33 |
CHICK-FIL-A |
222 |
1,348 |
1,570 |
34 |
GNC |
218 |
246 |
464 |
35 |
FANTASTIC SAMS |
213 |
308 |
521 |
36 |
SONIC |
210 |
282 |
492 |
37 |
DENNY’S |
181 |
326 |
507 |
37 |
PIZZA HUT |
181 |
117 |
298 |
39 |
COLD STONE CREAMERY |
177 |
407 |
584 |
39 |
ZAXBY’S |
177 |
26 |
203 |
41 |
AUNTIE ANNE’S |
175 |
319 |
494 |
41 |
MIDAS |
175 |
286 |
461 |
43 |
ARBY’S |
172 |
276 |
448 |
44 |
EUROPEAN WAX CENTER |
161 |
104 |
265 |
45 |
SMOOTHIE KING |
159 |
226 |
385 |
46 |
WINGSTOP |
155 |
132 |
287 |
47 |
JIFFY LUBE |
151 |
160 |
311 |
48 |
CULVER’S |
149 |
242 |
391 |
49 |
HUNTINGTON LEARNING CENTER |
147 |
37 |
184 |
49 |
POPEYES LOUISIANA KITCHEN |
147 |
606 |
753 |
50 |
MIRACLE-EAR |
144 |
19 |
163 |
Source: FRANdata. Brands with 25 or fewer franchisees were excluded.
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% |
27 |
0 |
27 |
2 |
FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES |
98.37% |
121 |
2 |
123 |
3 |
GATEWAY NEWSTANDS |
97.33% |
73 |
2 |
75 |
4 |
FIREHOUSE SUBS |
96.48% |
494 |
18 |
512 |
5 |
PANCHERO’S |
96.43% |
27 |
1 |
28 |
6 |
HISSHO SUSHI |
96.09% |
418 |
17 |
435 |
7 |
HWY 55 BURGERS SHAKES & FRIES |
94.44% |
51 |
3 |
54 |
8 |
JACK IN THE BOX |
92.38% |
97 |
8 |
105 |
9 |
CAPTAIN D’S |
90.91% |
60 |
6 |
66 |
10 |
PALM BEACH TAN |
89.66% |
26 |
3 |
29 |
11 |
APPLEBEE’S |
89.19% |
33 |
4 |
37 |
12 |
LITTLE CAESARS |
88.74% |
725 |
92 |
817 |
13 |
MIRACLE-EAR |
88.34% |
144 |
19 |
163 |
14 |
ZAXBY’S |
87.19% |
177 |
26 |
203 |
15 |
THE LITTLE GYM |
86.54% |
135 |
21 |
156 |
16 |
MCDONALD’S |
83.83% |
1,996 |
385 |
2,381 |
17 |
HUNTINGTON LEARNING CENTER |
79.89% |
147 |
37 |
184 |
18 |
AARON’S |
79.38% |
77 |
20 |
97 |
19 |
PLANET FITNESS |
78.74% |
137 |
37 |
174 |
20 |
GRANDY’S |
77.78% |
21 |
6 |
27 |
21 |
BARBERITOS |
77.42% |
24 |
7 |
31 |
22 |
HERTZ |
76.74% |
33 |
10 |
43 |
23 |
DUTCH BROS. |
76.32% |
58 |
18 |
76 |
24 |
CARL’S JR. |
75.86% |
88 |
28 |
116 |
25 |
FRONTIER ADJUSTERS |
75.00% |
123 |
41 |
164 |
26 |
JACKSON HEWITT TAX SERVICE |
74.01% |
413 |
145 |
558 |
27 |
PENN STATION EAST COAST SUBS |
72.15% |
57 |
22 |
79 |
28 |
FRESHII |
71.70% |
38 |
15 |
53 |
29 |
GODFATHER’S PIZZA |
71.67% |
129 |
51 |
180 |
30 |
BOJANGLES’ |
71.05% |
54 |
22 |
76 |
31 |
VALVOLINE INSTANT OIL CHANGE |
70.37% |
57 |
24 |
81 |
32 |
SPORT CLIPS |
69.72% |
320 |
139 |
459 |
33 |
RALLY’S |
69.70% |
23 |
10 |
33 |
34 |
BUDDY’S HOME FURNISHINGS |
68.97% |
20 |
9 |
29 |
35 |
DUNKIN’ DONUTS |
66.75% |
1,042 |
519 |
1,561 |
36 |
PACLEASE |
66.67% |
42 |
21 |
63 |
37 |
DOMINO’S PIZZA |
65.74% |
522 |
272 |
794 |
38 |
AVIS |
65.31% |
32 |
17 |
49 |
39 |
DEL’S LEMONADE |
64.52% |
20 |
11 |
31 |
40 |
WENDY’S |
64.24% |
273 |
152 |
425 |
41 |
BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS REAL ESTATE |
63.86% |
53 |
30 |
83 |
42 |
COST CUTTERS FAMILY HAIR SALON |
63.77% |
44 |
25 |
69 |
43 |
CHECKERS |
63.55% |
68 |
39 |
107 |
44 |
SUPERCUTS |
63.16% |
240 |
140 |
380 |
45 |
HARDEE’S |
62.99% |
80 |
47 |
127 |
46 |
ARMSTRONG MCCALL |
62.50% |
40 |
24 |
64 |
47 |
GREAT CLIPS |
62.37% |
580 |
350 |
930 |
48 |
ZPIZZA |
62.16% |
23 |
14 |
37 |
49 |
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK |
61.15% |
85 |
54 |
139 |
50 |
EUROPEAN WAX CENTER |
60.75% |
161 |
104 |
265 |
Source: FRANdata. Brands with 25 or fewer franchisees were excluded.
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Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine: Issue 3, 2018
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