Blue MauMau dares say what other publications won’t. Here is our annual listing of major franchise lemons to avoid investing in. It’s hard to believe but there are 23 major brands in 2012, where franchised stores actually fail worse than Quiznos. Ice cream shops have not done well.
Two franchising conglomerates, Kahala Corp and NexCen Brands, have the dubious honor of having two of their brands represented in the worst 25 with the highest franchise failure rates. Phoenix-based Kahala Corp. has #15 Blimpie and #19 Cold Stone Creamery franchises and New York City-based NexCen Brands has #18 Marble Slab and #22 Maggie Moo’s. In a similar vein, #9 Cottman and #21 Aamco Transmissions were acquired in 2006 under American Capital Strategies Ltd. to eventually combine together under Aamco.
How bad are these failures? Read on.