During the term of the Apricot Lane franchise agreement, is the franchisor allowed to locate a company-owned, company-affiliated, or franchised Apricot Lane store within the franchisee's territory?

According to the 2025 Apricot Lane Franchise Disclosure Document, Apricot Lane grants the franchisee a territory. However, the extent of this territory depends on the location of the premises. If the Apricot Lane store is located inside an enclosed mall, the territory is limited to the mall property. For all other locations, the territory is limited to the geographical area described in Exhibit C of the Franchise Agreement.

Apricot Lane explicitly states that it will not locate a company-owned, company-affiliated, or franchised Apricot Lane store within the franchisee's defined territory during the term of the agreement. However, Apricot Lane retains the right to engage in any business at any location not expressly prohibited. This includes operating or licensing other retail stores under different names or marks and conducting business through other distribution channels besides retail stores identified by the Apricot Lane marks.

It is important to note that the franchisee does not have the right to relocate the franchised business within the territory or open additional Apricot Lane stores in the territory without Apricot Lane's prior written consent. Additionally, Apricot Lane has no obligation to allow the franchisee to open additional stores, whether inside or outside the initially assigned territory. This reservation of rights gives Apricot Lane considerable latitude to operate or license other businesses that do not directly compete as another Apricot Lane store within the franchisee's territory, but could still impact the franchisee's business.