What right does Bee Organized possess regarding advertising?
Bee_Organized Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
At all times Franchisor, in Franchisor's Reasonable Business Judgment, possesses the right to authorize, establish, designate and de-authorize a local or regional advertising cooperative within those markets that Franchisor designates (the "Advertising Cooperative"). Franchisee agrees that Franchisor possesses the sole and exclusive right to designate any geographic area in which two or more Bee Organized Business franchises are located as a region for the purpose of establishing an Advertising Cooperative. If Franchisee's Bee Organized Business or Operating Territory is located within the geographic area of an Advertising Cooperative, franchisee must participate in and contribute to the Advertising Cooperative. Franchisee agrees to the following:
- (1) If Franchisor previously instituted or, in the future, institutes an Advertising Cooperative that includes, in whole or in part, Franchisee's Operating Territory or Franchisee's Bee Organized Business Location, Franchisee shall participate in and make such on-going financial contributions to the Advertising Cooperative, as determined by the Advertising Cooperative;
- (2) Franchisor may establish foundational and organizational requirements of the Advertising Cooperative including voting provisions that allows the Advertising Cooperative to make decisions based on the simple majority vote (one vote per franchisee Bee Organized Business located within the designated area of the Advertising Cooperative) with a quorum constituting 25% of those franchisees within the Advertising Cooperative;
- (3) Unless otherwise authorized and approved by Franchisor in writing, each Advertising Cooperative shall be organized for the exclusive purpose of administering marketing programs and the development of media (all subject to the review and approval of Franchisor) for use by members of the Advertising Cooperative in local or regional marketing;
- (4) If at the time of execution of this Agreement an Advertising Cooperative has been established for a geographic area that includes, in whole or in part, Franchisee's Bee Organized Business location or Operating Territory, or if such Advertising Cooperative is established during the Term of this Agreement, Franchisee shall fully participate in the Advertising Cooperative and Franchisee shall execute, at the request of Franchisor, all documents required by Franchisor and Franchisee shall become a member of the Advertising Cooperative subject to the terms of those documents;
- (5) Franchisee shall contribute to the Advertising Cooperative in the amounts as determined and required by the Advertising Cooperative or, otherwise in accordance with those documents governing the operation of the Advertising Cooperative; provided, however, Franchisee's contributions to the Advertising Cooperative shall not exceed Franchisee's local minimum marketing obligations set forth
in Article 9.B. of this Agreement and Franchisee's contributions to the Advertising Cooperative shall count toward satisfaction of Franchisee's minimum local marketing obligations set forth in Article 9.B.; (6) Franchisee shall submit to the Advertising Cooperative and to Franchisor such statements and reports as may be required by the Advertising Cooperative and approved by Franchisor. All contributions to the Advertising Cooperative shall be maintained and administered in accordance with the documents governing the Advertising Cooperative. The Advertising Cooperative shall be operated solely for the purpose of collection and expenditure of the Advertising Cooperative's fees for the purpose set forth in this Article 9.C.;
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 54–218)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bee Organized's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Bee Organized has the right to authorize, establish, designate, and de-authorize local or regional advertising cooperatives within designated markets, using their reasonable business judgment. Bee Organized retains the sole right to designate any geographic area with two or more Bee Organized Business franchises as a region for establishing an Advertising Cooperative. If a franchisee's Bee Organized Business or operating territory falls within such an area, participation in and contribution to the Advertising Cooperative is mandatory.
Franchisees must make ongoing financial contributions to the Advertising Cooperative as determined by the cooperative itself. Bee Organized can establish foundational and organizational requirements, including voting provisions allowing decisions based on a simple majority vote (one vote per franchise) with a quorum of 25% of franchisees within the cooperative. Unless otherwise approved in writing by Bee Organized, each Advertising Cooperative is organized exclusively for administering marketing programs and developing media, all subject to Bee Organized's review and approval.
If an Advertising Cooperative exists at the time of the agreement or is established during the agreement's term for an area including the franchisee's location or territory, the franchisee must fully participate and execute all required documents to become a member. Contributions to the Advertising Cooperative are determined by the cooperative but cannot exceed the franchisee's local minimum marketing obligations as outlined in Article 9.B of the agreement. These contributions count toward fulfilling the franchisee's minimum local marketing obligations. Franchisees must submit required statements and reports to both the Advertising Cooperative and Bee Organized. All contributions are managed according to the cooperative's governing documents, solely for collecting and spending advertising fees as specified in Article 9.C.