Indiana Feature Articles

"I love the action of the restaurants and the strategy of the real estate. This is the jackpot business for me," says Mike Scanlon, president and CEO of Thomas and King in Lexington, Ky., where he opened his first Applebee's in 1988.

In June 2008, heavy rains caused flooding that filled the basement and rose two feet high on the first floor of Columbus Regional Hospital in Columbus, Indiana. The flooding closed the hospital, forcing the evacuation of 157 patients and causing an estimated $125 million in damages. Paul Davis National (PDN) was soon on the scene, part of the team brought in to mitigate the damage and allow the regional health care facility to reopen as quickly as possible.

For over a quarter of a century, I have been a critic of the United States' franchise sales regulation system.

The Little Caesars Pizza story is… well, quite a story. Founded by Mike and Marian Ilitch, first-generation Americans of Macedonian descent, the company is approaching its 50th anniversary. Still family owned and operated, Little Caesar Enterprises, Inc. has grown prodigiously since its first store opening in 1959 in Garden City, Mich.

In the early summer of 2007, retired Air Force Tech Sergeant Robert Flores was making his way across the country with a U-Haul from Texas to Indiana to open his first Little Caesars franchise. That may sound extreme -- but it's not -- nor, is this his first brush with running his own business.

As more franchise brands push outward from their local or regional base seeking growth on the national stage, choosing the right city or designated market area (DMA) is always a critical factor in success.

Multi-unit operators are a sophisticated culture within the franchise industry. They typically are streamlined, aggressive, think big, plan ahead, and are focused on continual growth. So why would a successful area developer want to sell a particular brand or chain of units? Lots of reasons: retirement, health issues, liquidity, a change in direction, a more aggressive growth strategy, a better opportunity, or simply the desire to "try it again with another concept."

Business owners understand the importance of advertising and the need to maximize how their dollars are spent. But how do you do that? For multi-unit franchise operators, much is at stake. Here's a look at what four area developers have done to make the most of their advertising spending.

Computer technology seems to follow a fairly regular path: first, it automates operations, gaining some time and savings for large operations. Then it becomes cheaper, widespread, and more capable of handling routine tasks. Then it begins to change business functions themselves by enabling tasks that could never be performed before.

"If you're not moving forward, you're standing still," goes the old business axiom. In franchising, expansion is one way of moving forward. Whether you're a start-up organization or a player who's been around a while, growth through new sites is an objective--and when it comes to successful site selection tactics and techniques, consider the following approaches.

March 30th marked another celebration of outstanding achievement in multi-unit franchising when the 2006 FAB Awards were presented to four franchisee winners who demonstrated a level of performance resulting in significant contributions to franchisor systems. At the JW Marriott Las Vegas Resort, Spa & Golf, attendees got to see franchising at its best at the Fifth Annual Multi-Unit Franchising Development Conference & Expo.

Listening to franchisees with multiple brands discuss business sounds a little like stock brokers strategizing with clients about their portfolios.

It's every multi-unit operator's nightmare: You have a solid group of healthy performing units until you notice one beginning to decline - lower sales numbers, declining traffic, increased customer complaints, unusually high employee turnover. Or maybe you decide to take on a new unit that has been a low performer. It can be a difficult situation, but it can also provide an opportunity filled with high returns if handled properly. Here are some approaches, tips and insight to what some area developers have done to turn around poor performing units.

It's all her son's fault! Twenty-eight years ago, says Alice Schleicher (pronounced "Slisher"), her then 16-year-old, Rick, came home and said, "'Mom and Dad, I saw a restaurant and I want to buy it.'" It was a KFC in Sellersburg, Indiana. "We kind of looked at each other and said, 'Okay, well, we'll buy it.'" She envisioned having four someday. So far, she's exceeded that by 50.

Domino's Pizza and Checker's Drive-In Restaurants are off to the races following the waving of the green flag. Both fast-food companies are capitalizing on NASCAR and other professional racing tie-ins that build awareness and increase sales.

When it comes to evaluating a potential area developer, don't marry for money, say franchisors. With money as a given, look for that indefinable "fit" and you're golden for the long haul.

Start spreading the news, you may just want to be a part of New York, New York. The Big Apple heads up the list of the top 20 cities in the U.S. for franchising, according to a new study by Franchise Update and FRANdata. This past summer, executives from Franchise Update commissioned researchers at FRANdata, an organization that collects extensive franchise industry information, to tabulate the rankings. FRANdata analysts drew upon more than 250,000 records of franchise locations out of its proprietary database to calculate the results. "We analyzed Direct Market Areas (DMAs) as outlined by Nielsen. We matched zip codes to DMAs and calculated the number of franchises within those DMAs," explained FRANdata data research analyst Brad Morick, who was responsible for the project. The use of the DMAs helped standardize the analysis and interpretation of the rankings. "To my knowledge, no one else has ever done a study like ours," continued Morick. "Since we collect UFOCs from franchises across the country, we know all of their locations and could easily do a cross match. "