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About the Franchise 500®
From Entrepreneur.com
The initial Franchise 500® in 1980 was the first ranking of
franchises in the industry. Though we've since noticed a smattering of
imitators, Entrepreneur's Franchise 500® is still the
best and most comprehensive rating of franchises in the world. Over the
years, we have polished and perfected our ranking procedure, giving us a
formula that accurately identifies today's top franchise opportunities for
you.
Only franchise companies that submit full Uniform Franchise Offering
Circulars (UFOCs) or Canadian disclosure documents and whose information
is verified by Entrepreneur are considered for the Franchise 500®
rankings. A franchise company must also have a minimum of 10 units with at
least one being a U.S.-based franchise, it must be seeking new franchisees
in the U.S., and it cannot be in Chapter 11 at the time the rankings were
compiled. (An exception to this rule is Canadian-based companies that are
only expanding in Canada.)
All companies, regardless of size, are judged by the same criteria:
objective, quantifiable measures of a franchise operation. The most
important factors include financial strength and stability, growth rate
and size of the system. We also consider the number of years in business
and length of time franchising, startup costs, litigation, percentage of
terminations and whether the company provides financing. Financial data is
audited by an independent CPA. We do not measure subjective elements such
as franchisee satisfaction or management style, since these are judgments
only you can make based on your own needs and experiences. The objective
factors are plugged into our exclusive Franchise 500® formula,
with each eligible company receiving a cumulative score. The 500
franchises with the highest cumulative scores become the Franchise 500®.
Remember that the Franchise 500® is not intended to
endorse, advertise or recommend any particular franchises. It is solely a
research tool you can use to compare franchise operations. {Entrepreneur}
stresses that you should always conduct your own independent investigation
before investing money in a franchise. Read the UFOC and related materials
carefully, get help from an attorney and CPA in reviewing any legal and
financial documents, talk to as many existing (and former) franchisees as
possible, and visit their outlets. The best way to protect yourself is to
do your homework.
Research compiled by Maria Anton Conley and Tracy Stapp with
assistance from Emily Weisburg; financial analysis by David R. Juedes,
CPA; data compilation assistance from Paul Scott; additional assistance
from Carrie Brenner, Kari Hamanaka, Natalie Murillo, Kim Orr, James Park,
Jada Cash, Kaia Lai and Mallory Somerset.
Here is the list of the
2006 Franchise 500 ranking.
http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/rankings/franchise500-115608/2007,.html
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