Can Benjamin Franklin Plumbing share market research with its affiliates?
Benjamin_Franklin_Plumbing Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisor also has the right to require Franchisees to deliver Business Data to Franchisor.
Franchisor has the right to use (and to authorize others to access and use) Business Data to, among other uses: (i) verify sales; (ii)
monitor progress of its franchisees, including compliance with Minimum Performance Requirements; (iii) prepare a financial performance representation for Franchisor's Franchise Disclosure Document; and (iv) share vendor and supplier pricing data with its affiliates.
8.7.2 Franchisor owns and has the right to access all Customer Data, in whatever form existing, and wherever stored. Because we own the Customer Data, including Personal Information, we can (subject to applicable law) share it with our affiliates, service providers, contracted third parties, or any other person, for any purpose, without notifying or compensating you, both during and after this Agreement, including for the performance of services for Franchisor or its parents or affiliates, as well as for marketing and crossselling products and services of any of the foregoing parties. Whenever we request, and without request upon termination or expiration of this Agreement, you are required to promptly deliver to Franchisor all Customer Data in your possession or control, without retaining any of Customer Data in any media. You may not sell or disclose to anyone else any Personal Information or aggregated or non-aggregated Customer Data without first obtaining our written consent. In the event of an approved sale of the Franchised Business to a new owner who will continue to operate the Franchised Business under an agreement with us, you are required to transfer the Customer Data to us and we will transfer the Customer Data to the new owner, or we may require you, in our sole discretion, to transfer the Customer Data directly to the new owner. You agree to install and maintain the security measures and devices necessary to protect Customer Data from unauthorized access or disclosure, including (but not limited to) the minimum measures in Section 8.8.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPTS (FDD pages 88–312)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Benjamin Franklin Plumbing Franchise Disclosure Document, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing has the right to share vendor and supplier pricing data with its affiliates. Additionally, Benjamin Franklin Plumbing owns and has the right to access all Customer Data and can share it with its affiliates, service providers, contracted third parties, or any other person, for any purpose, without notifying or compensating the franchisee, both during and after the agreement, including for marketing and cross-selling products and services. This includes Personal Information.
This means that as a Benjamin Franklin Plumbing franchisee, you may benefit from the franchisor sharing vendor and supplier pricing data with its affiliates, potentially leading to better deals and cost savings. However, franchisees should be aware that Benjamin Franklin Plumbing retains ownership of all customer data and has broad rights to use and share this data with affiliates and other parties for various purposes, including marketing, without any obligation to inform or compensate the franchisee.
This practice is fairly common in franchising, where franchisors often leverage the collective data and resources of the franchise system to benefit the brand and its affiliates. However, franchisees should carefully consider the implications of these data-sharing practices, particularly regarding customer privacy and the potential use of customer data for purposes beyond the immediate operation of their franchise. Franchisees are also prohibited from selling or disclosing any Personal Information or aggregated or non-aggregated Customer Data without first obtaining written consent from Benjamin Franklin Plumbing.