Franchise Daily Digest: April 22

The International Franchise Expo (IFE) is a staple of the yearly franchising calendar, and an event where thousands of entrepreneurs and investors come to find new opportunities with hundreds of the biggest franchisors exhibiting their concepts.

This year’s in-person event was recently rescheduled for October 1-3, but MFV Expositions, the organizer of IFE, will be hosting a virtual show from May 28-30, at which franchisors can exhibit with an online presence and interact with candidates from around the world – all from the safety of their own homes.

“Realizing our clients are going to find it extremely challenging to keep their pipelines full during this unprecedented time, we’ve devised a solution to help in generating quality leads,” said Sheila Fischer, vice president of MVF Expositions. “Our franchisors have told us it is important they use this time to interact with prospects, so when the dust settles, they have candidates ready to purchase.”

McDonald’s will be providing free Thank You Meals to healthcare workers, police officers, firefighters, and paramedics through May 5 as a token of appreciation for their service. Eligible workers only need to show their ID to be given a choice of several breakfast or lunch items.

“As local business owners, we know that our communities need us now more than ever and we’re committed to continuing to serve them,” said Dino Sammakieh, a McDonald’s operator in the Greater Bay Area. “We are proud to be able to support our neighbors who are on the frontlines as first responders and healthcare workers with Thank You Meals.”

Pep Boys, the automotive maintenance franchise with around 1,000 locations throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico, will open 11 of its Puerto Rico sites on a limited basis to provide service to essential personnel. The locations will be open on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9am to 5pm.

The full list of locations that are reopening can be found here.

Gordon Drakes, partner and co-head of franchising and commercial at the Fieldfisher law firm, has published an article detailing the ways that franchisors can best protect a claim against an insolvent company.

“In the wake of economic turmoil caused by the Coronavirus crisis, a number high profile brands in the leisure and hospitality sectors have entered or will soon enter into a formal insolvency process, and more will follow over the coming months,” writes Drakes. “Although failure rates within franchising are typically much lower than non-franchised businesses, franchising will not be immune from this trend.”

To read the full article, visit the Fieldfisher site.

Interim HealthCare and its parent company Caring Brands International (CBI) have launched a website to help the home care industry access PPE in the fight against COVID-19.

The site, available to all those in-home care, will allow the purchase of PPE in bulk. Core PPE essentials being sourced include N95 masks, gowns, and infrared thermometers.

“Our priority is always the health and safety of our clinicians, caregivers and the patients and families they serve,” said Jennifer Sheets, president and CEO of Caring Brands International. “For us this is mission-critical: without PPE we can’t ask our employees to be on the front line of this epidemic, just as we would never ask our armed forces to enter battle unprepared.”