2010 Multi-Unit Buyers Guide

It was only a few years ago that, for the first time, multi-unit franchisees controlled more units than single-unit operators did. That moment marked a shift that had been building for decades as franchising matured into today's world of dominant multi-unit and multi-brand franchisees--along with multi-brand franchisors offering several brands from under one roof. To paraphrase the old car slogan, "This is not your father's franchising." Or perhaps we should say, "not your mom-and-pop's." Franchising has grown up and it looks a lot like multi.

Franchisees are an optimistic lot, expansion-minded, on the grow, always alert to new opportunities. And for them, multi-unit franchising represents one of today's most attractive opportunities. Whether it involves increasing the number of units of their current brand or adding new brands to their holdings, the allure of multi-unit franchising is attracting the best and brightest franchisees in the business with increasing frequency.

Franchising continues to grow--not only in size, but in complexity--and in recent years, a huge part of that growth is attributable to multi-brand franchising.

Multi-brand franchising allows multi-unit operators to balance risk and ride out the uncertainties of the marketplace in many ways