Pizza Chain accepts Pesos

[gypsydoodlebug]

Don't owners of individual franchises have a certain amount of freedom in the daily management of their business, though?

That's why coupons say "at participating restaurants only", right? Because even if they have bought into the franchise, each restaurant can be owned and operated individually.

Yes and no. If the company rolls outs a company-wide marketing campaign, there's a good chance that the franchisee will want to jump on board A) because corporate will offer its financial backing for promotional materials (e.g. corporate printing, reduced costs for window clings and other in-house marketing materials, door hangers, etc.); B) because the national publicity will enhance local businesses (would you NOT want to be a part of Domino's new Anything Goes deal?) and C) because their contracts mandate that they conform with X amount of corporate offerings (e.g. deals, LTOS -- limited time offerings -- etc.).

If there's a corporate reimaging, franchisees have X amount of time before their franchises can be pulled (which is why some franchises go under. Some, like McDonalds, Arby's, etc. cost upwards of $20,000 or more PER UNIT to undergo concept redevelopment. This isn't common chainwide, but it does happen.).

"Corporate stores" are those that are run solely by the corporate offices and their employees. Many times, these units are used for training or for the simple purpose of making money; "franchised stores" bring in a lot of dough (pun intended) in royalty fees, but consistency within the brand is sometimes a problem at the regional level when systems operations are still subjective.

You're right about it being dependent on the chain. Taco Bell (owned by Yum! Brands, based out of Louisville) and Pizza Patron are two totally different entities --- you're talking national versus regional here.