Sacramento Bee:
Large restaurant franchisees post-recession are evolving into more sophisticated, investor-owned companies that wield considerable clout with their franchisor, according to an analysis of the Franchise Times Restaurant 200, the exclusive annual ranking of the nation’s largest restaurant franchisees.
Collectively, the Franchise Times Restaurant 200 posted revenue of $23.9 billion in 2011, up 3.2 percent from the year before. The companies owned 18,408 units, up 3 percent, continuing an almost uninterrupted string of growth for the largest operators in the 20-year history of the ranking, compiled in conjunction with Franchise Times’ sister publication, The Restaurant Finance Monitor.
“Franchising is changing,” said Mary Jo Larson, vice-president of Franchise Times Corp. in Minneapolis and publisher of the ranking. “A lot of older systems are increasingly relying on bigger franchisees to operate their systems. Many of these franchisees are owned by private equity groups and more sophisticated investors that have a lot more influence with the franchisor than the traditional mom-and-pop shop.”