What restrictions apply if Amorino purchases a competitive franchise network?
Amorino Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
e) acquire and continue to operate, directly or indirectly, any business operating under different trademarks in or outside the Area Development Territory;
f) acquire and retain, directly or indirectly, the rights and obligations of any franchisor or licensor of any business similar to an Amorino Store operating under different trademarks in or outside the Area Development Territory;
g) in or outside the Area Development Territory, to establish and promote other franchise systems involving different services or products using different trademarks, and to establish company-owned or franchised outlets for those systems, without offering you the right to participate;
h) offer and sell Amorino franchises to persons who are located outside the Area Development Territory;
i) offer and sell franchising rights to Area Developers who are located outside the Territory;
j) be acquired, directly or indirectly, in whole or in part, by any person(s) who provide products or services similar or dissimilar to those provided by Amorino Stores;
k) if we, through a merger or any other form of acquisition acquire the ownership rights to or the rights, as franchisor or licensor, to collect franchise fees or licensing fees from any business(es) that are located within your Area Development Territory, and so long as such business(es) would not become converted to operate under the Proprietary Marks; then such acquired business(es) shall not be deemed to violate the Territory rights granted to you and you shall not be entitled to receive any revenue, royalty or other rights associated with such acquired business(es); and
l) provide, offer, sell and grant others the right to provide, offer and sell services and goods similar to and/or competitive with those provided at Amorino Stores, whether identified by the Proprietary Marks or other trademarks or service marks, at festivals, cultural or trade exhibitions, or other public events, both inside and outside the Territory.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 80–81)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Amorino Franchise Disclosure Document, Amorino retains the right to acquire and operate businesses under different trademarks, even those similar to an Amorino store, without offering existing franchisees the right to participate. Specifically, if Amorino acquires a business within an Area Development Territory that operates under different trademarks and does not convert it to an Amorino store, this acquisition does not violate the franchisee's territory rights. The franchisee is not entitled to any revenue, royalty, or other rights associated with the acquired business.
This clause protects Amorino's ability to expand its business through various means, including acquiring existing franchise systems, without being obligated to offer those acquisitions to its current franchisees. This is a fairly standard practice in franchising, allowing franchisors to diversify and grow their brand portfolio.
For a prospective Amorino franchisee, this means that Amorino could potentially own or operate similar businesses in the same general area, although under different brand names. While this might seem concerning, the acquired businesses must maintain different trademarks and not be converted into Amorino stores, thus theoretically minimizing direct competition with the franchisee's Amorino store. Franchisees should be aware that their Area Development Territory rights do not extend to businesses acquired by Amorino that operate under different trademarks.