The 2018 Multi-Unit 50: Ranking the Most Multi-Friendly Brands

Multi-brand franchising is a growing phenomenon. Some franchisees are not content with operating one brand so they add one, two, three, or more other brands to their portfolios. Our annual Multi-Brand 50 issue provides data supplied by FRANdata that gives insight to this growing operational approach.

Here are 2018's rankings of the country's largest multi-brand operators, along with the brands they've chosen. Top 50 Brands by Number of Multi-Unit Franchisees RANK BRAND MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEES SINGLE-UNIT FRANCHISEES TOTAL FRANCHISEES 1 SUBWAY 4,151 3,773 7,924 2 MCDONALD’S 1,996 385 2,381 3 DUNKIN’ DONUTS 1,042 519 1,561 4 THE UPS STORE 818 2,311 3,129 5 AFC (ADVANCED FRESH CONCEPTS) 784 1,727 2,511 6 LIBERTY TAX SERVICE 732 939 1,671 7 LITTLE CAESARS 725 92 817 8 H&R BLOCK 668 771 1,439 9 DQ GRILL & CHILL/DQ TREAT 625 1,807 2,432 10 GREAT CLIPS 580 350 930 11 HEALTH MART PHARMACY 574 3,030 3,604 12 ACE HARDWARE 530 2,544 3,074 13 DOMINO’S PIZZA 522 272 794 14 FIREHOUSE SUBS 494 18 512 15 BURGER KING 473 389 862 16 BASKIN-ROBBINS 451 817 1,268 17 VISION SOURCE 433 2,263 2,696 18 JIMMY JOHN’S 426 343 769 19 HISSHO 418 17 435 20 JACKSON HEWITT TAX SERVICE 413 145 558 21 CENTURY 21 355 848 1,203 22 TACO BELL 343 344 687 23 SPORT CLIPS 320 139 459 24 KFC 302 461 763 25 ANYTIME FITNESS 279 1,523 1,802 26 WENDY’S 273 152 425 27 PAPA JOHN’S 272 443 715 28 EDIBLE ARRANGEMENTS 262 297 559 29 PAPA MURPHY’S 250 263 513 30 COLDWELL BANKER 247 542 789 31 SUPERCUTS 240 140 380 32 JERSEY MIKE’S SUBS 234 191 425 33 CHICK-FIL-A 222 1,348 1,570 34 GNC 218 246 464 35 FANTASTIC SAMS 213 308 521 36 SONIC 210 282 492 37 DENNY’S 181 326 507 37 PIZZA HUT 181 117 298 39 COLD STONE CREAMERY 177 407 584 39 ZAXBY’S 177 26 203 41 AUNTIE ANNE’S 175 319 494 41 MIDAS 175 286 461 43 ARBY’S 172 276 448 44 EUROPEAN WAX CENTER 161 104 265 45 SMOOTHIE KING 159 226 385 46 WINGSTOP 155 132 287 47 JIFFY LUBE 151 160 311 48 CULVER’S 149 242 391 49 HUNTINGTON LEARNING CENTER 147 37 184 49 POPEYES LOUISIANA KITCHEN 147 606 753 50 MIRACLE-EAR 144 19 163 Source: FRANdata. Brands with 25 or fewer franchisees were excluded.

Top 50 Brands By Percentage of Multi-Unit Franchisees RANK BRAND % MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEES MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEES SINGLE-UNIT FRANCHISEES TOTAL FRANCHISEES 1 PANERA BREAD 100.00% 27 0 27 2 FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES 98.37% 121 2 123 3 GATEWAY NEWSTANDS 97.

33% 73 2 75 4 FIREHOUSE SUBS 96.48% 494 18 512 5 PANCHERO’S 96.43% 27 1 28 6 HISSHO SUSHI 96.

09% 418 17 435 7 HWY 55 BURGERS SHAKES & FRIES 94.44% 51 3 54 8 JACK IN THE BOX 92.38% 97 8 105 9 CAPTAIN D’S 90.

91% 60 6 66 10 PALM BEACH TAN 89.66% 26 3 29 11 APPLEBEE’S 89.19% 33 4 37 12 LITTLE CAESARS 88.

74% 725 92 817 13 MIRACLE-EAR 88.34% 144 19 163 14 ZAXBY’S 87.19% 177 26 203 15 THE LITTLE GYM 86.

54% 135 21 156 16 MCDONALD’S 83.83% 1,996 385 2,381 17 HUNTINGTON LEARNING CENTER 79.89% 147 37 184 18 AARON’S 79.

38% 77 20 97 19 PLANET FITNESS 78.74% 137 37 174 20 GRANDY’S 77.78% 21 6 27 21 BARBERITOS 77.

42% 24 7 31 22 HERTZ 76.74% 33 10 43 23 DUTCH BROS. 76.

32% 58 18 76 24 CARL’S JR. 75.86% 88 28 116 25 FRONTIER ADJUSTERS 75.

00% 123 41 164 26 JACKSON HEWITT TAX SERVICE 74.01% 413 145 558 27 PENN STATION EAST COAST SUBS 72.15% 57 22 79 28 FRESHII 71.

70% 38 15 53 29 GODFATHER’S PIZZA 71.67% 129 51 180 30 BOJANGLES’ 71.05% 54 22 76 31 VALVOLINE INSTANT OIL CHANGE 70.

37% 57 24 81 32 SPORT CLIPS 69.72% 320 139 459 33 RALLY’S 69.70% 23 10 33 34 BUDDY’S HOME FURNISHINGS 68.

97% 20 9 29 35 DUNKIN’ DONUTS 66.75% 1,042 519 1,561 36 PACLEASE 66.67% 42 21 63 37 DOMINO’S PIZZA 65.

74% 522 272 794 38 AVIS 65.31% 32 17 49 39 DEL’S LEMONADE 64.52% 20 11 31 40 WENDY’S 64.

24% 273 152 425 41 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS REAL ESTATE 63.86% 53 30 83 42 COST CUTTERS FAMILY HAIR SALON 63.77% 44 25 69 43 CHECKERS 63.

55% 68 39 107 44 SUPERCUTS 63.16% 240 140 380 45 HARDEE’S 62.99% 80 47 127 46 ARMSTRONG MCCALL 62.

50% 40 24 64 47 GREAT CLIPS 62.37% 580 350 930 48 ZPIZZA 62.16% 23 14 37 49 TWO MEN AND A TRUCK 61.

15% 85 54 139 50 EUROPEAN WAX CENTER 60.75% 161 104 265 Source: FRANdata. Brands with 25 or fewer franchisees were excluded.