Does Afuri Ramen Dumpling retain the right to profit from items franchisees buy from them or their affiliates?
Afuri_Ramen_Dumpling Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
- 1.7 Rights We Reserve.
We retain all rights not specifically granted to you under this Agreement.
We retain the right, in our sole discretion and without granting any right to you:
A. to use or license the use of the Marks or any other trademarks, service marks, logos or commercial symbols to anyone, and for any purpose, and at any location (except that we will not place an Afuri restaurant with your Franchise Territory).
B. to sell products or services anywhere, including within the Franchise Territory, using the Marks or different marks, through channels of distribution other than the Afuri restaurant franchise granted to you by this Agreement.
We will have no obligation to compensate you for any such sales made within your Franchise Territory.
For example, we may place Afuri establishments in airport and mall food courts, stadiums, and similar limited access environments in your Franchise Territory and regardless of the location of other Afuri operations.
We may place present and future Afuri products for sale in grocery stores and food markets at any location, whether or not within the Franchise Territory or within close proximity to an Afuri franchise.
Other distribution methods may also include internet sales, telephone sales, catalogue sales, sales via online marketplaces (such as Goldbelly.com, for example), and sales by other means.
- C. to reserve the exclusive right to use the Internet to promote the Marks and to offer and sell Afuri-related products and services.
You may not independently market on the Internet, conduct e-commerce, or make sales via online marketplaces except as otherwise allowed by us in the Operations Manual.
- D. to locate Afuri company-owned and franchised restaurant locations anywhere outside of your Franchise Territory.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 50–189)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Afuri Ramen Dumpling's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, the franchisor retains all rights not specifically granted to the franchisee. This includes the right to sell products or services anywhere, even within the franchisee's territory, through different channels of distribution using the Afuri Ramen Dumpling marks or different marks.
Specifically, Afuri Ramen Dumpling may place establishments in locations like airport and mall food courts, stadiums, and similar limited access environments within a franchisee's territory, without any obligation to compensate the franchisee for such sales. They can also sell present and future Afuri Ramen Dumpling products in grocery stores and food markets, regardless of their proximity to a franchise location or whether they are within the franchisee's territory.
Furthermore, Afuri Ramen Dumpling reserves the exclusive right to use the Internet to promote the marks and to offer and sell Afuri Ramen Dumpling-related products and services. Franchisees are restricted from independently marketing on the Internet, conducting e-commerce, or making sales via online marketplaces unless explicitly allowed in the Operations Manual. These stipulations allow Afuri Ramen Dumpling to benefit from various sales channels, potentially impacting a franchisee's revenue within their territory.