DEEP DIVE 

Top 10 Franchise Failures

10. Quiznos

At it’s peak in 2007, they had ~5,000 stores and were doing $2B in revenue per year.

Today they have ~200 stores and can’t stop the bleeding.

Treating franchisees as a profit center (instead of business partners) ultimately led to their downfall.

9. Starbucks in Australia

Since entering Australia in 2000, Starbucks has lost hundreds of millions of dollars and has just 60 locations there.

They assumed their popularity in the US would carry them in every nation regardless of cultural differences.

They were wrong.

8. Darden Restaurants: China Coast

Darden Restaurants is responsible for massive restaurant chains like Olive Garden and Red Lobster.

In the 1980’s, they attempted to launch a Chinese concept called China Coast.

It failed miserably, and they lost over $20 million when all was said & done.

7. Blockbuster

In 2004, Blockbuster had 9,000+ stores and was valued at $5 billion.

A decade later they were all but extinct.  Their biggest mistake?

Turning down the option to buy Netflix in 2000 for just $50M.

Today Netflix is valued at ~$140 Billion.

6. Chuck E. Cheese

Chuck E. Cheese had ~300 locations in 2000, and enjoyed some great years as the go-to birthday party spot for kids nationwide.

They’ve since gone through multiple bankruptcies and continue to struggle with profitability.

5. Dippin’ Dots

Despite the slogan “ice cream of the future”, Dippin’ Dots went bankrupt in 2011.

After a savvy acquisition by an oil tycoon for ~$12M in 2011, he sold the business this year for $222 million.

The man who founded the business, Curt Jones, was pushed out in 2011.

4. Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut was the largest pizza restaurant in the world for nearly 5 decades.

But a lack of focus on convenience & technology, combined with stagnant product innovation, allowed Domino’s to become the market leader by 2017.

3. Boston Market

Founded in 1985, their hybrid fast food / homestyle meal model became popular, and allowed them to grow to 1,000+ locations.

But as grocery stores started selling discounted rotisserie chicken, foot traffic dried up.

Today, Boston Market has just ~ 330 locations.

2. 7-Eleven

Founded in Texas in 1927 – today, they’re the largest retailer in the world with 78,000+ locations.

But after taking out to much debt in the name of expansion, they were caught overleveraged in the 1980’s. They had no choice but to declare bankruptcy,  and were acquired for cheap by their Japanese franchisee.

60+ years of work lost in the blink of an eye.

1. Howard Johnson’s

Once the largest restaurant in America in the 1960s and 1970s with over 1,000 locations, the last Ho-Jo’s closed in March 2022.

Failure to adapt, as well as increased competition from the likes of Friendly’s, Applebee’s and Chili’s, sealed their fate.

Honorable Mention: McDonald’s <> Chipotle Investment

McDonald’s once owned 90% of Chipotle.

But in 2007, they sold their entire stake to “focus on core operations”. Today, 90% of Chipotle would be worth roughly ~$34 billion!

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FRANCHISE HEADLINES

Sunday Side Chicks Set To Launch In 2023

Broke: Chick-Fil-A is closed on Sunday

Woke: Make a meme about a food truck called Side Chick that is only open on Sunday’s and parks next to Chick-Fil-A

Bespoke: Bring that meme to life!! More details to come next year on that…but for now, buy some sweet and ~crispy~ merch for the holiday’s!

The Most Interesting Gas Station In The World

Imagine a business that sells beaver nuggets, has 120 fuel nozzles for gasoline, AND has some of the cleanest bathrooms on planet earth. GOOD NEWS – you don’t have to! Read all about Buc-ee’s, the most interesting gas station in the world!