CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: New Site Exposes Blight
May 13, 2009 by Sean Kelly
Filed under Business
According to a new post on Unhappy Franchisee (CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: Unhappy Franchisees Launch Site), the Children’s Orchard franchise owners association thinks it’s got a bad apple in its midst, and they’re afraid he will ruin the whole barrel.
They’ve launched a new website with the intent of warning prospective franchisees about what they describe as an “unconscionable” new Children’s Orchard franchise agreement, as well as the downward spiral they claim the chain has experienced since CEO Taylor Bond and his investor group acquired the franchised resale shop chain in 2004.
According to the overview of The Orchard Cooperative’s complaints: “Since 2004 when Mr. Bond took charge, 23 new stores have opened, more than twice that number, 49, have closed… Each… lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process. As if that’s not enough, the franchise invariably and aggressively pursues these owners demanding that they pay them royalties and ad fees for the balance of the ten year franchise period.”
Read more:
CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: Overview & Links
CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: Unhappy Franchisees Launch Site
Children’s Orchard: Hyped to the Core?
ARE YOU FAMILIAR WITH THE CHILDREN’S ORCHARD? WHAT DO YOU THINK? SHARE A COMMENT BELOW.
Good that Children’s Orchard has found the “Unhappy Franchisee” Site on the Internet and will use their free speech rights to WARN and to try to engage in a little collective bargaining with their franchisor in the view of the public.
This “unconscionable” term in franchise agreements that permits franchisors to demand royalties for the entire term of the contract when the franchiSEE is operating without profits or in the RED and about to fail should be EXPOSED to the public.
Michael Webster has posted on this issue here:
http://www.bizop.ca/blog2/due-diligence/childrens-orchard-website.html
Interesting that Winmark is expanding to 5 stores in Las Vegas, while Children’s Orchard recently lost one Las Vegas store and has only two remaining. What is the deal with this franchisor? Their store numbers seem to be continually shrinking.