Paul Wilbur

Pet industry sees growth with 107 active brands and 4,600 units

Change has always been part of franchising. What feels different today is the nonstop pace of change.

For years, Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) information has been a strategic differentiator.

Consumer trends don’t change overnight, and franchising tends to be somewhat behind new trends generally.

Private equity boosts sales for franchises like Tropical Smoothie Cafe

For decades, real estate pros could point to traffic counts, growth corridors, or anchor tenants and then predict a location’s success.

Private equity (PE) is no longer a peripheral player in franchising; it’s central.

73% of franchisors plan to increase marketing spend this year

As labor challenges continue to evolve in the franchise sector, franchisors and franchisees must adopt forward-thinking strategies to ensure sustainable growth and operational efficiency.

As we know, multi-unit operators (MUOs) are the whales of the franchising industry, representing a significant share of total franchise units and possessing the expertise and capital necessary to drive expansion.

The National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders (NAGGL) recently hosted its annual conference, drawing attention to critical trends in the SBA lending landscape.

For a variety of reasons, new recruitment is down for most brands.

Multi-unit, multi-brand franchisees operate 41% of units across multiple brands

As you might expect of someone personally involved in franchise research, I’ve watched carefully how artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT are transforming the way franchises can gain insights into their franchise operations.

Just in the past two years, eight new franchise brands have emerged in the pickleball industry, driven by skyrocketing consumer demand, diverse business models, and robust growth projections.

Travel centers have evolved into hospitality hubs, offering a range of services and amenities to travelers.

New lenders enter franchise market with 9,000 lenders now using Franchise Registry.

Number of new brands in franchising grows 19% since Covid

One of the trends of the past few years has been growth through acquisition.

Performance benchmarking involves a methodical, objective process of evaluating performance in relation to peers and best-in-class systems.

A franchise expert discusses the complexities of aligning stakeholders' many voices in a franchise system.