🍟 5/16/2022 – McDonald’s Is Leaving Russia

FRANCHISE HEADLINES

McDonald’s Is Leaving Russia

The Scoop

After more than 30 years of operation, McDonald’s announced they are exiting their Russian business.

The golden arches cited the country’s on-going invasion of Ukraine has caused an unpredictable operating environment, and is not consistent with their values.

This decision is expected to cost McDonald’s $1.2 billion to $1.4 billion. 

The Wolf’s Take 🍟

This is a pretty serious decision from McDonald’s, and one that I’m impressed with. Many corporations play the PR game until it actually hurts revenue significantly. 

As a company with a market cap of $180B, they of course can take the hit, but a 10-figure loss on operations in an entire country is still far from insignificant.

It seems others are also following suit, as Burger King is reportedly removing its ownership stake in Russia as well.

More Headlines

FLAGSHIP FRANCHISE

Bojangles

  • Founded: 1977
  • Units Open: 775
  • Investment Range: $590K – $2.8M
  • Average Revenue per Location: $1,800,000 

Did you know?

The founders of Bojangles, Richard Thomas and Jack Fulk weren’t fast-food rookies when they launched the brand. Thomas was a multi-unit KFC franchisee, while Fulk owned a Hardee’s franchise.

FRANCHISE OF THE DAY

Mr. Fries Man

Fast Facts

Background

  • Founded in 2016, franchising since 2019
  • Based in California; 9+ locations open as of Jan 1 2022
  • A restaurant that sells french fries with a variety of sauces such as ranch or mango habanero, and toppings like bacon, chili, steak, and more

Fees + Investment

  • Royalty: 6%
  • Brand Fund: 0%
  • Franchise Fee: $35,000
  • Initial Investment: $132,0050 – $302,500

Financial Performance

  • The below information is taken from the Mr. Fries Franchise Disclosure Document, and has been reformatted to make it easier to read.
     
  • It represents the performance of their affiliate location, which opened in 2017, from the years 2017-2020
     
  • The real estate is a 1,260 square foot storefront in a multi-tenant 5,630 square foot shopping plaza, located at 14800 S. Western Ave, #108 Gardena, California

The Wolf’s Take 🍟

$1.6M in revenue off of at most a $302k investment is a fantastic unit volume.

What’s even more encouraging is that it can operate in a ~1,200 square foot location, which helps minimize operating expenses. 

Mr. Fries man also only serves (as you’d imagine) french fries – which means the menu is simple.

Repeatable Operations

Franchises with very repeatable operations have the ability to expand quicker, and also make it easier for new franchisees to transition.

I love that Mr. Fries Man focuses solely on french fries, and not complex dishes or a wide-variety menu. 

It’s a quite straightforward concept that can appeal to folks of all dietary restrictions, and given the impressive performance of the corporate store, Mr. Fries Man shows some serious potential for food-operators out there!

Resources

Disclaimer: This Content is for informational purposes only, you should not construe any such information or other material as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. Nothing contained on this site constitutes a solicitation, recommendation, endorsement, or offer to buy or sell any franchises, securities, or other financial instruments in this or in any other jurisdiction in which such solicitation or offer would be unlawful under the franchise and/or securities laws of such jurisdiction.

All Content in this email is information of a general nature and does not address the detailed circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Nothing in the email constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information in the email constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto. You alone assume the sole responsibility of evaluating the merits and risks associated with the use of any information or other Content in this email before making any decisions based on such information or other Content.