''Franchise Times'' is an American business publication covering
franchising
Franchising is based on a marketing concept which can be adopted by an organization as a strategy for business expansion. Where implemented, a franchisor licenses some or all of its know-how, procedures, intellectual property, use of its busine ...
in the United States.
The magazines has reports on franchising trends and legal issues, franchisor and franchisee success stories, family business matters, and interviews with celebrities who are involved in franchising
History
''Franchise Times'' was created by
Crain Communications
Crain Communications Inc is an American multi-industry publishing conglomerate based in Detroit, Michigan, United States, with 13 non-US subsidiaries.
History
Gustavus Dedman (G.D.) Crain, Jr. ( Gustavus Demetrious Crain, Jr.; 1885–1973), pre ...
in 1994 under the title ''Franchise Buyer''. The name was changed in 1996 to ''Franchise Times''.
In September 1998, John Hamburger, owner of Franchise Times Corp purchased the rights to the ''Franchise Times''
trademark
A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...
,
subscription
The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and ...
and advertiser lists,
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
,
web domain
A domain name is a string that identifies a realm of administrative autonomy, authority or control within the Internet. Domain names are often used to identify services provided through the Internet, such as websites, email services and more. As ...
name, and back issues. He saw
restaurant chains
A chain store or retail chain is a retail outlet in which several locations share a brand, central management and standardized business practices. They have come to dominate the retail and dining markets and many service categories, in many pa ...
were moving into the franchise arena and wanted to expand his restaurant coverage to that growing trend.
Hamburger also purchased ''Continental Franchise Review'' (''CFR'') in 1998. A newsletter that covered franchise developments, Hamburger combined it with ''Franchise Times.''. He hired the former publisher of CFR, Janet Sparks, to write editorials under the ''CFR'' trademark. She then moved to writing a monthly column until 2011. Mary Jo Larson, who was the publisher/editor of the ''Restaurant Finance Monitor'' became the new editor of the magazine. She also served as the first editor and is now publisher and vice president.
The new Franchise Times printed its first issue in 1999. That same year, the magazine published its first ranking of the Franchise Times Top 200 franchise companies based on worldwide sales and locations. The list also included the next 100 "up and comers." ''Franchise Times'' list was different from others in that rankings were based solely on sales and unit counts. It has since expanded its list to the top 500 companies, under the trademark of the Top 200+.
In 2000, ''Franchise Times'' started its Legal Eagles feature, a list of top franchise attorneys in the United States and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, based on peer and client referrals and input from an editorial committee.
Research
''Franchise Times'' publishes the Top 200+, a ranking of the 500 largest franchises based on worldwide sales in its October issues. The data—which also includes other data points such as number of units, both franchised and company-owned, and international units—is used by ''Franchise Times'' and others to track franchise growth and analyze trends in the various franchise segments in news stories.
"Fast and Serious", an editorial feature that identifies growing franchise systems, was launched in 2014. The results of the findings are published in March, along with analysis of the trends.
''Franchise Times'' Restaurant 200 is a ranking of the top restaurant franchisees in the U.S., compiled by its sister publication, the ''Restaurant Finance Monitor''.
Japanese edition
In 2003. Hamburger signed an agreement with franchise business consultant Roy Fujita to produce a
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese edition of ''Franchise Times.'' It uses content from the U.S. publication, but sells its own advertising around it.
Conferences
''Franchise Times'' hosts a yearly conference in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, the Franchise Finance & Growth Conference. CEOs and CFOs are invited there to talk about their brands before lenders, franchisors and multi-unit franchisees. The conference also provides educational and networking sessions. The Franchise Times Dealmakers of the Year
are conferred on franchise companies and executives. Dealmakers is also a popular editorial feature in the April issue of the magazine.
References
External links
* {{Official website
Business in the United States