What is the size of the Protected Area granted to a Batteries Plus Bulbs franchisee?
Batteries_Plus_Bulbs Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Territory/General. You will receive a "Protected Area" representing an area equal to the lesser of a 3 mile radius or 150,000 people surrounding the location of your Store when we and you sign the Franchise Agreement. The location of the Store and the Protected Area will be identified in Exhibit A to the Franchise Agreement. If you do not have a site for your Store when we and you sign the Franchise Agreement, you will sign Alternative Exhibit A to the Franchise Agreement and will have up to 150 days after the date of the Franchise Agreement to find a site for the Store (acceptable to us) within the designated geographic area. Once we approve a location within the geographic area established in Alternative Exhibit A, Batteries and you will then sign Exhibit A (which identifies the Protected Area). During the
term of the Franchise Agreement, if you are complying with the provisions of the Franchise Agreement, we will not locate and establish any other franchised or company-owned full-service Batteries Plus® store in the Protected Area. In addition, we agree to assign to you (and you must accept) all rights and obligations respecting those e-commerce transactions (each a "Qualified E-Commerce Transaction") in which: (1) a customer purchases through our Batteries Plus® website or other online portal any batteries, light bulbs and/or related products and accessories or device repair or other services; (2) the products will be shipped to the customer from our or our affiliate's warehouse or from a designated third party warehouse or, if applicable, we or our affiliate performs the services requested, and (3) the customer: (a) selects your Store at which the customer will pick up the product(s) or desires to conduct business with you, or (b) does not select a specific franchisee or store but provides an address to which the products (or device for which services are performed) will be shipped which is within the lesser of a 20 mile radius of your Store location or an area encompassing a commercially reasonable estimate of a current population of 250,000 (the "E-Commerce Territory"). If a proposed e-commerce transaction falls within the E-Commerce Territory of more than one franchisee, we will assign the transaction to the franchisee whose Batteries Plus® store is closest to the address provided by the customer.
Source: Item 12 — Territory (FDD pages 43–46)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Batteries Plus Bulbs's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, a franchisee receives a Protected Area that is the lesser of a 3-mile radius or an area encompassing 150,000 people surrounding the store's location. This Protected Area is defined in Exhibit A of the Franchise Agreement. If a site is not yet determined when the Franchise Agreement is signed, an Alternative Exhibit A is used, allowing up to 150 days to find an acceptable location. Once a location is approved, Exhibit A is signed, officially establishing the Protected Area.
During the term of the Franchise Agreement, Batteries Plus Bulbs will not establish another franchised or company-owned full-service store within the Protected Area, provided the franchisee remains in compliance with the agreement. However, this protection has exceptions. Batteries Plus Bulbs retains the right to sell within the Protected Area through different channels of distribution, such as online sales, and under different trademarks. Other Batteries Plus Bulbs franchisees may also advertise inside a franchisee's Protected Area and serve customers residing within it.
In addition to the Protected Area, Batteries Plus Bulbs franchisees also receive rights regarding e-commerce transactions within an "E-Commerce Territory." This territory extends to the lesser of a 20-mile radius or an area encompassing a commercially reasonable estimate of a current population of 250,000 around the store. If an e-commerce transaction falls within multiple franchisees' E-Commerce Territories, the transaction is assigned to the franchisee whose store is closest to the customer's address. These e-commerce rights are subject to the terms of the Omni-Channel Program, which Batteries Plus Bulbs can modify or replace, although they cannot unilaterally change the e-commerce territory rights granted in the Franchise Agreement.