Auntie Anne’s
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Since its franchising start in 1989, Auntie Anne’s has provided consumers with a delicious lineup of pretzels and more from its more than 1,150 locations worldwide. Auntie Anne’s franchise success leads back to a three-pronged philosophy: to provide premium products and friendly, courteous service in a sparkling clean store.
One of the most popular franchises in the industry, Auntie Anne’s provides franchisees with all the necessary tools and support to develop the Auntie Anne’s concept including training for franchisees and staff at Auntie Anne’s Pretzel University, ongoing field support and access to Auntie Anne’s confidential manuals, training videos, and marketing materials.
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Operating Units |
12/31/2008 |
12/31/2009 |
12/31/2010 |
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| | Franchised |
702 |
728 |
761 |
| | % Change | -- |
3.7% |
4.5% |
| | Company-Owned |
12 |
13 | 13 |
| | % Change | -- | 33.3% | 8.3% |
| | Total |
714 |
741 |
774 |
| | % Change | -- |
3.8% |
4.5% |
| | Franchised as % of Total |
98.3% |
98.3% |
98.3% |
Investment Required
The franchise fee for an Auntie Anne’s franchise is $30,000.
Auntie Anne’s provides the following range of investments required to open your initial franchise. The range assumes that all items are paid for in cash. To the extent that you choose to finance any of these expense items, your front-end investment could be substantially reduced.
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Item | Established Low Range | Established High Range |
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Initial Franchise Fee | $30,000 | $30,000 |
| | Lease, Utility and Security Deposits | $4,000 | $7,000 |
| | Leasehold Improvements, Furniture and Fixtures | $90,000 |
$175,000 |
| | Equipment | $31,500 | $34,500 |
| | Licenses and Permits | $175 | $600 |
| | Initial Inventory | $3,300 | $4,000 |
| | Insurance | $400 | $2,500 |
| | Training Expenses | $1,000 | $7,500 |
| | Opening Advertising | $500 | $5,000 |
| | Signage | $4,000 | $12,000 |
| |
POS Equipment | $8,000 | $15,000 |
| | Office Equipment and Supplies | $5,000 | $10,000 |
| | Professional Fees | $5,000 | $10,000 |
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Additional Funds (3 Months) | $15,000 | $51,000 |
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Total Initial Investment | $197,875 |
$364,100 |
Ongoing Expenses
Auntie Anne’s franchisees pay royalty fees equal to 7% of gross sales and an advertising and marketing fund contribution equal to 1% of gross sales.
Franchisee Satisfaction
A critical component of the due diligence process is that you, as a prospective franchisee, have a strong sense of existing franchisee satisfaction. Click here to download a summary of a recent independent survey of Auntie Anne’s existing franchisees conducted by the Franchise Research Institute. You can also click here to download direct quotes from franchisees about their experience with Auntie Anne’s, taken from the same survey. Please note that, in order to ensure that the comments were candid (both good and bad), franchisee names were intentionally withheld from the report provided to the franchisor.
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How do you rate Auntie Anne's in terms of: |
Rating* |
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Overall Quality of Franchisor |
98% |
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Recommend to Prospective Francisees |
97% |
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Initial Training Supplied by Franchisor |
99% |
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* Independent Audit of Existing Franchisees Who Rated Auntie Anne's as Excellent, Very Good, or Good |
What You Get–Training and Support
All franchisees go through five days of complete store operations training, with three days in a classroom setting and two days in a store setting. Franchisees can also take advantage of an additional five-day supplemental training program that covers everything from managing to marketing. Up to six days of on-site training are available once a store opens. Auntie Anne’s continually provides ongoing training and support for franchisees and their employees, boasting approximately one corporate employee for every three franchisees.
Territory
Auntie Anne’s does not grant exclusive territories.
Note: The tables and information regarding the number of operating units, investment required, on-going expenses, training and territory grants were taken from the company’s 2011 FDD. The 2011 write-ups will be incorporated into the 2012 Edition of Bond’s Top 100 Franchises publication.
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