One of my pet peeves: when people use the terms “chain” and “franchise” interchangeably. Of course, it’s a mistake usually made by squishy granolas who are complaining about what a social evil these type of businesses are. This is what makes it even much more annoying, because franchise businesses can actually encourage local entrepreneurial spirit…
For the record: Wal-Mart, Borders, Best Buy, Safeway, and the like are NOT franchises. These stores are 100% owned and operated by their respective parent companies, making them chain stores. As a rule, non-restaurant retail establishments tend to be chain stores rather than franchises, although there are exceptions…
Franchises, on the other hand, are owned by someone other than a parent company (often a local operator), but operate using that company’s brand name and image through a licensing agreement. Franchising is common to the restaurant industry, particularly in fast food, but a few retail stores and service businesses are also franchises: Hallmark card stores, IGA supermarkets, and Sir Speedy printing, for example. Franchises offer varying degrees of local control, and the agreement may be little more restrictive than requiring the use of a name. In some cases, the local entrepreneur’s name may even precede the “brand name” (e.g. “Bubba’s IGA” or “Lurleen’s Hallmark”)…
Now that I’ve made that clarification, I can safely return to my job search, message boards, and “In the Heat of the Night” reruns…