Franchise

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Franchise may refer to:

Business and law[edit]

  • Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees
  • Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television provider, public utility, or taxicab company, sometimes requiring the filing of tariff schedules, as in:
  • Franchise, a clause used by insurance companies as a threshold for policy payments, as in deductible
  • Franchise, political franchise, or suffrage, the civil right to vote
  • Franchise jurisdiction, in English history, a jurisdiction held as private property
  • Franchise Pictures, a film production company

Main types of franchise models[edit]

Product or distribution franchise[edit]

A product made by a franchisor (or manufactured on its behalf by another company) is sold to a franchisee, who then sells it to customers under the franchisor's name. Examples of this type of franchise business include automotive and petroleum companies like Ford, GM, and Exxon. Franchisees often pay an initial fee to join the franchise network and are limited to a specific geographical area. In such franchise arrangements, the franchisor receives no ongoing fees for the right to do business using the brand. Instead, the franchisor makes money by charging a markup on sales to the franchisee.[1]

Manufacturing, Production or Processing Franchise[edit]

The franchisor sells an essential ingredient to the franchisee or provides specific know-how, which, along with ongoing quality controls by the franchisor, allows the franchisee to produce or process the final product and sell it to retailers or, in some situations, end consumers. Coca-Cola operates in many markets around the world in this manner, supplying franchisees with the essential Coca-Cola ingredient, protected as a trade secret, allowing the franchisees to produce the final product, which is then sold to retailers, who in turn sell it to end consumers.[1]

Business Format Franchising[edit]

The owner of a firm (franchisor) grants another (franchisee) the license to exploit the specific business model, including any intellectual property rights linked with it, particularly the trademark. Companies that use this strategy include well-known international brands like McDonald's, Hilton Inns, and 7-Eleven. This is the most common model, in many countries, business format franchising is the only kind of franchising that is regulated. [1]

Arts, entertainment, and media[edit]

Sports[edit]

  • Franchise, a term for a team in the type of professional sports league organization most commonly found in North America; see North American professional sports league organization
    • Franchise player, a player on such a team around whom an entire competitive squad can be built
    • Franchise tag, a designation of a player in the US National Football League whose contract is soon to expire that binds them to the team for one year at an enhanced salary
  • Sports league franchise, or League franchise, a local or regional business franchising operation under a particular sporting league in activities such as pool, darts, etc.

See also[edit]

  1. ^ a b c World Intellectual Property Organization, ed. (2019). In Good Company: Managing Intellectual Property Issues in Franchising. IP for Business. Geneva, Switzerland: World Intellectual Property Organization. doi:10.34667/tind.28658. ISBN 978-92-805-2265-5.