Does Aerus grant an exclusive territory to franchisees?
Aerus Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
witter) web pages/accounts.
Item 12
TERRITORY
The specific street address of the Franchised Business location will be provided in the Franchise Agreement. You will be granted certain rights to an area located in and/or around your Franchised Business. This is called the Area of Responsibility. The Area of Responsibility is not a set distance for all Franchised Businesses and will vary depending on the Program you choose to operate under, and the demographic and geographic nature of your location. You will not receive an exclusive territory. You may face competition from other franchisees, from outlets that we own, or from other channels of distribution or competitive brands that we control.
Under the Standard Program and the Associate Program, the Franchise Agreement grants to you the limited right to offer and sell Products (other than the Beyond Products) to Approved Customers within the Area of Responsibility. Franchisees who sign a Beyond Addendum will also
have the limited right to offer and sell Beyond Products to Approved Customers within the Area of Responsibility. Franchisees who do not sign a Beyond Addendum have no rights to offer and sell Beyond Products.
The Franchised Business will be operated out of and from one or more Approved Locations and from no other physical location, except as may be permitted by us in writing, and you must cause any premises lease covering any Approved Location to include a Lease Rider in the form attached to the Franchise Agreement and included in Exhibit 2(a) or Exhibit 2(b) of this Disclosure Document.
Under the Standard Program, and only upon our prior written consent, you may be permitted to engage Outlet Licensee to establish, on a non-exclusive basis, Licensed Outlets within those parts of your Area of Responsibility that do not include any part of another franchisee's Protected Area The forms (and terms) used to engage Outlet Licensees must be acceptable to us and may not grant greater rights and must include at least the same restrictions and limitations as the Franchise Agreement. Licensed Outlets must be subject to all provisions of the Franchise Agreement and the Manuals concerning Approved Locations, except that (i) repair, maintenance and warranty service may be provided by or at an affiliated Approved Location rather than on-site and, (ii) provided that, so long as we receive prompt notice of the establishment and location of a Licensed Outlet, we will not require prior approval of the site or lease for any Licensed Outlet. Outlet Licensees will be solely and exclusively the responsibility of you for all purposes, including without limitation, all training and support. We will have no legal obligation whatsoever to or for the benefit of any Outlet Licensees; however, we will be a beneficiary of any of your rights under all agreements existing between you and any Outlet Licensees and may enforce such rights.
Franchisees under the Associate Program are not permitted to open additional locations, Satellites or Licensed Outlets. References and descriptions of Outlet Licensees and Licensed Outlets in this Disclosure Document are not applicable to the Associate Program.
Source: Item 12 — Territory (FDD pages 43–47)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Aerus's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees do not receive an exclusive territory. Instead, Aerus grants franchisees rights to an Area of Responsibility, the specific size and location of which is detailed in the Franchise Agreement and varies based on the program the franchisee operates under and the demographic and geographic characteristics of the location. Within this Area of Responsibility, franchisees have the right to offer and sell Products to Approved Customers.
However, Aerus franchisees may face competition from various sources, including other franchisees both within and outside their Area of Responsibility and Protected Area, outlets that Aerus owns, other channels of distribution, and competitive brands that Aerus controls. Aerus retains the right to establish new businesses and systems, including Aerus Businesses, under the same or different names, which may offer similar products and services within any part of the Area of Responsibility, provided they do not establish a physical Aerus Business location within the franchisee's Protected Area (a one-mile radius around the Approved Location).
Aerus also sells products through alternative channels such as television, catalogs, direct mail, floor care retailers, mass merchandise retailers, commercial distributors, the internet, and a customer service call center, which may overlap with a franchisee's Area of Responsibility. Aerus will not compensate franchisees for orders solicited or accepted by them within the Area of Responsibility through these alternative channels. This lack of an exclusive territory and the presence of alternative sales channels could significantly impact a franchisee's potential sales and market share.