Multi-Brand 50

Franchisees of all sizes are increasingly discovering that business goes better with outside help. Many have found the key to bottom-line success is to focus on what they do best and find the right fit to outsource the rest.

In some ways, brothers Jesse and Charles Keyser, 39 and 35, are very different, and that's good. So are their three brands--Little Caesars, Sport Clips, and Oxi Fresh Carpet Cleaning--which also is good.

In the world of multi-unit franchisees, the big keep getting bigger. In our Multi-Brand 50 rankings, which we began publishing in 2008, the number of units operated by both the top 5 and top 10 franchisees has climbed steadily since 2010, following a post-recession drop-off when franchisees retreated from growth and instead focused on operational efficiency and selling or closing under-performing units.

As I'm sure you've noticed in your dealings with Millennials, there can be significant differences between their attitudes and those of the Baby Boomers.

They say everything's bigger in Texas. It's definitely bigger for Texan Michael Knobelock, whose Houston-based MSK Enterprises operates nearly 70 franchise locations spread across 4 different brands and 7 states.

After an extended period of complacency, markets have whipsawed in 2016. Will this level of heightened volatility continue?

Do you know the seven drivers of gross margin? More important, do you know how to actually manage them in your business?

A couple of years ago we worked with a really big search engine client to help them better understand and approach the franchise community.

There is much discussion in marketing circles about how brick-and-mortar businesses can compete with the pricing and convenience of e-tailing.

FRANdata has been alongside us supplying data on multi-brand franchising for 9 years now. In this issue you will find their list of the 50 largest multi-brand franchisees in the U.S., as well as a list of their 25 most popular brands.