Does Amorino agree to any obligation regarding the review and approval of a proposed site?
Amorino Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
You may operate the Store only at the location approved by us. When you sign the franchise agreement, we will mutually agree upon a site selection area in which you can propose the location for your store. You must identify a location to serve as your franchised location for the Store by a date set forth in the franchise agreement. For any proposed site you identify, and in addition to completing a "Project Proposal" Form and "Key Elements" File, you must supply us with a description of the location in the form we specify and any other information we may reasonably require in order to evaluate the location, including demographic characteristics, traffic patterns, parking, character of the neighborhood, information on other area businesses, and information on the lease terms or purchase price for the proposed site. You must also advise us of any time periods within which the lessor of the proposed location requires a response, comments on and/or acceptance of the lease.
The location must be within the site selection area identified in the franchise agreement, meet Amorino's then-current site selection criteria, and be approved by us. We agree not to unreasonably delay our review and approval or disapproval of the proposed site and lease terms. We consider various objective and subjective factors, as well as our business experience, in reviewing your proposed initial location and any potential new locations. Approval of locations is at our sole discretion. You shall submit to us for prior approval all construction plans, site plans and blueprints for the location we approve.
Once we approve your location, you will have the exclusive right to operate the Store at such location in a territory to be identified as the "Protected Area".
The Protected Area is exclusive in that, during the term of the franchise agreement, we will not own or operate, or license or grant anyone else the right to own or operate, an Amorino store, kiosk outlet, mobile outlet or other retail outlet under the Proprietary Marks within the Protected Area.
If you operate the Store in an enclosed shopping mall, your Protected Area will be the exterior boundaries of such mall.
Otherwise, your Protected Area will be described in terms of a radius surrounding the Store, which will vary depending on the type of location (such as whether your Store is located in an urban or suburban environment).
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 47–50)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Amorino's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Amorino does have an obligation regarding the review and approval of a proposed site. Specifically, Amorino agrees to not unreasonably delay its review and approval or disapproval of the proposed site and lease terms. However, the document states that the approval of locations is at Amorino's sole discretion.
To propose a site, a prospective Amorino franchisee must identify a location within a mutually agreed upon site selection area by a date set forth in the franchise agreement. The franchisee must supply Amorino with a description of the location, a completed "Project Proposal" Form and "Key Elements" File, and any other information Amorino may reasonably require to evaluate the location. This includes demographic characteristics, traffic patterns, parking, character of the neighborhood, information on other area businesses, and information on the lease terms or purchase price for the proposed site. The franchisee must also advise Amorino of any time periods within which the lessor of the proposed location requires a response, comments on and/or acceptance of the lease.
Amorino considers various objective and subjective factors, as well as its business experience, in reviewing a proposed initial location and any potential new locations. Once Amorino approves a location, the franchisee will have the exclusive right to operate the store at that location within a Protected Area. The Protected Area's size varies depending on the location type, with a minimum of four blocks radius in an urban location and one-half mile radius in a non-urban location for non-mall locations.