Understanding a franchise’s territory definitions also can be a key to whether a franchise unit will fail or thrive. Mitchell York, author of “Franchise: Freedom or Fantasy?” said many Quiznos sub franchises failed because owners failed to realize the implications of the company’s territory rules.
“When Quiznos was the really hot franchise, everyone was buying into Quiznos,” York said. “They had territory definitions where you could have an exclusive in your town, but you wouldn’t have the exclusive in the next town. You might have thought it’s not going to be a problem and then lo and behold another store opens up a few blocks away.”