The 2019 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 2019's rankings of the country's largest multi-brand operators, along with the brands they've chosen.
Rank |
Brand |
Multi-Unit Franchisees |
Single-Unit Franchisees |
Total Franchisees |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
SUBWAY |
3,999 |
3,720 |
7,719 |
2 |
MCDONALD’S |
1,984 |
384 |
2,368 |
3 |
DUNKIN’ |
1,023 |
493 |
1,516 |
4 |
THE UPS STORE |
841 |
2,274 |
3,115 |
5 |
AFC |
749 |
1,813 |
2,562 |
6 |
LITTLE CAESARS |
708 |
84 |
792 |
7 |
HISSHO SUSHI |
632 |
20 |
652 |
8 |
H&R BLOCK |
621 |
744 |
1,365 |
9 |
LIBERTY TAX SERVICE |
619 |
859 |
1,478 |
10 |
GREAT CLIPS |
594 |
300 |
894 |
11 |
HEALTH MART PHARMACY |
565 |
3,188 |
3,753 |
12 |
DOMINO’S PIZZA |
533 |
259 |
792 |
13 |
ACE HARDWARE |
531 |
2,536 |
3,067 |
14 |
FIREHOUSE SUBS |
485 |
19 |
504 |
15 |
BASKIN-ROBBINS |
460 |
779 |
1,239 |
16 |
BURGER KING |
438 |
355 |
793 |
17 |
JIMMY JOHN’S |
437 |
315 |
752 |
18 |
VISION SOURCE |
436 |
2,194 |
2,630 |
19 |
DQ GRILL & CHILL |
400 |
1,137 |
1,537 |
20 |
JACKSON HEWITT TAX SERVICE |
394 |
160 |
554 |
21 |
CENTURY 21 |
350 |
736 |
1,086 |
22 |
TACO BELL |
343 |
344 |
687 |
23 |
ANYTIME FITNESS |
330 |
1,663 |
1,993 |
24 |
SPORT CLIPS |
290 |
119 |
409 |
25 |
KFC |
280 |
421 |
701 |
26 |
PAPA JOHN’S |
264 |
410 |
674 |
27 |
EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS |
259 |
316 |
575 |
28 |
WENDY’S |
253 |
143 |
396 |
29 |
JERSEY MIKE’S SUBS |
250 |
209 |
459 |
30 |
CHICK-FIL-A |
248 |
1,408 |
1,656 |
31 |
SUPERCUTS |
245 |
142 |
387 |
32 |
PAPA MURPHY’S |
237 |
251 |
488 |
33 |
COLDWELL BANKER |
221 |
485 |
706 |
34 |
FANTASTIC SAMS |
210 |
301 |
511 |
35 |
GNC |
197 |
239 |
436 |
36 |
SONIC DRIVE-IN |
187 |
269 |
456 |
36 |
ZAXBY’S |
187 |
13 |
200 |
38 |
AUNTIE ANNE’S |
175 |
314 |
489 |
39 |
SMOOTHIE KING |
174 |
224 |
398 |
40 |
COLD STONE CREAMERY |
173 |
409 |
582 |
41 |
HUNTINGTON LEARNING CENTER |
171 |
31 |
202 |
41 |
DQ TREAT |
171 |
795 |
966 |
43 |
PIZZA HUT |
170 |
120 |
290 |
44 |
WINGSTOP |
169 |
120 |
289 |
45 |
MIDAS |
166 |
276 |
442 |
46 |
ARBY’S |
164 |
276 |
440 |
46 |
EUROPEAN WAX CENTER |
164 |
112 |
276 |
48 |
CULVER’S |
155 |
274 |
429 |
49 |
KELLER WILLIAMS |
154 |
723 |
877 |
50 |
POPEYES LOUISIANA KITCHEN |
147 |
606 |
753 |
Top 50 Brands by Percentage of Multi-Unit Franchisees
Rank | Brand | % Multi-Unit Franchisees |
Multi-Unit Franchisees |
Single-Unit Franchisees |
Total Franchisees |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
GATEWAY NEWSTANDS |
100.00% |
73 |
0 |
73 |
1 |
PANCHERO’S |
100.00% |
28 |
0 |
28 |
3 |
FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES |
98.25% |
112 |
2 |
114 |
4 |
HISSHO SUSHI |
96.93% |
632 |
20 |
652 |
5 |
PANERA BREAD |
96.43% |
27 |
1 |
28 |
6 |
FIREHOUSE SUBS |
96.23% |
485 |
19 |
504 |
7 |
CAPTAIN D’S |
95.71% |
67 |
3 |
70 |
8 |
SMARTSTYLE |
94.90% |
93 |
5 |
98 |
9 |
ZAXBY’S |
93.50% |
187 |
13 |
200 |
10 |
JACK IN THE BOX |
92.31% |
96 |
8 |
104 |
11 |
LITTLE CAESARS |
89.39% |
708 |
84 |
792 |
12 |
PALM BEACH TAN |
89.29% |
25 |
3 |
28 |
13 |
HWY 55 BURGERS SHAKES & FRIES |
88.52% |
54 |
7 |
61 |
14 |
MIRACLE-EAR |
88.34% |
144 |
19 |
163 |
15 |
FRESHII |
87.69% |
57 |
8 |
65 |
16 |
HUNTINGTON LEARNING CENTER |
84.65% |
171 |
31 |
202 |
17 |
MCDONALD’S |
83.78% |
1,984 |
384 |
2,368 |
18 |
DEL’S LEMONADE |
83.33% |
25 |
5 |
30 |
19 |
PASSPORT HEALTH |
82.93% |
34 |
7 |
41 |
20 |
DUTCH BROS. |
81.69% |
58 |
13 |
71 |
21 |
APPLEBEE’S |
80.49% |
33 |
8 |
41 |
22 |
FRONTIER ADJUSTERS |
77.18% |
115 |
34 |
149 |
23 |
CARL’S JR. |
74.38% |
90 |
31 |
121 |
24 |
PLANET FITNESS |
71.89% |
133 |
52 |
185 |
25 |
JACKSON HEWITT TAX SERVICE |
71.12% |
394 |
160 |
554 |
26 |
BOJANGLES’ |
71.05% |
54 |
22 |
76 |
27 |
SPORT CLIPS |
70.90% |
290 |
119 |
409 |
28 |
GODFATHER’S PIZZA |
70.86% |
124 |
51 |
175 |
29 |
PENN STATION EAST COAST SUBS |
70.24% |
59 |
25 |
84 |
30 |
VALVOLINE INSTANT OIL CHANGE |
69.23% |
54 |
24 |
78 |
31 |
PACLEASE |
68.85% |
42 |
19 |
61 |
32 |
BARBERITOS |
67.74% |
21 |
10 |
31 |
33 |
DUNKIN’ |
67.48% |
1,023 |
493 |
1,516 |
34 |
DOMINO’S PIZZA |
67.30% |
533 |
259 |
792 |
35 |
GREAT CLIPS |
66.44% |
594 |
300 |
894 |
36 |
SOTHEBY’S INTERNATIONAL REALTY |
66.42% |
89 |
45 |
134 |
37 |
HARDEE’S |
65.63% |
84 |
44 |
128 |
38 |
COST CUTTERS FAMILY HAIR SALON |
64.29% |
45 |
25 |
70 |
39 |
WENDY’S |
63.89% |
253 |
143 |
396 |
40 |
SUPERCUTS |
63.31% |
245 |
142 |
387 |
41 |
ARMSTRONG MCCALL |
62.50% |
40 |
24 |
64 |
42 |
FREEDOM BOAT CLUB |
62.22% |
28 |
17 |
45 |
43 |
AVIS |
61.90% |
26 |
16 |
42 |
44 |
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK |
60.58% |
83 |
54 |
137 |
45 |
RALLY’S |
60.53% |
23 |
15 |
38 |
46 |
EUROPEAN WAX CENTER |
59.42% |
164 |
112 |
276 |
47 |
RNR TIRE EXPRESS |
59.26% |
16 |
11 |
27 |
48 |
MICHELIN COMMERCIAL SERVICE NETWORK |
59.09% |
26 |
18 |
44 |
49 |
PIEOLOGY |
58.82% |
20 |
14 |
34 |
50 |
PIZZA HUT |
58.62% |
170 |
120 |
290 |
SOURCE: FRANdata. Brands with 25 or fewer units not included. |
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Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine: Issue 3, 2019
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