Quiznos Franchise Narrowly Avoids Bankruptcy
Through a last second deal with a deep-pocketed private equity investor, the once-celebrated Quiznos franchise has managed to narrowly avoid bankruptcy. The sandwich chain negotiated the extinguishing of some $300 million in obligations while securing a fresh $150 million in capital from NYC-based private equity backer Avenue Capital, a distressed investment fund with approximately $20 billion in assets under management.
Despite a bruising economy and brutal competition from sandwich rival Subway, Quiznos was able to stave off total collapse at the franchisor level for years, leaning on (some franchisees would contend crushing) its franchisees by imposing rising supply costs and promotional efforts on its franchisee network. That strategy kept the franchisor afloat, but brought about a rapid shuttering of units, with some 600 Quiznos restaurants faltering in 2010 alone.
With a second lease on life and control of the franchisor squarely in the hands of private equity professionals, will Quiznos be able to navigate a still-shaky economy, challenge Subway for supremacy, and win back the trust of its surviving franchisees?
Read more about the Quiznos deal with Avenue Capital on NPR.
The Necessity to Revamp Franchise Operations and Systems
But, once the original operating system is established, it must be refined and tweaked as changes take place in its industry and within the company. An ongoing challenge for every business, not only franchise companies, is how to improve their operating systems in order to better manage results.
Franchise Disclosure Documents For Dummies – Part 1
To begin my new weekly column for FranchiseHelp.com I will be writing a series of articles covering some basics and need-to-know information for each of the twenty-three Items of the Franchise Disclosure Document (“FDD”). I will try to be as non-technical as possible, and will try to provide insight and information that is useful for both franchisors and prospective franchisees. Nine weeks from now, you may have a slightly better understanding of the core elements of the FDD.
