How does Big Blue Swim School define the Territory in the Development Rights Agreement?
Big_Blue_Swim_School Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
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Development Rights Agreement
You may (if you qualify) develop and operate a number of BIG BLUE Swim Schools within a specific territory consisting of distinct trade areas (the "Territory"). We and you will identify the Territory in the Development Rights Agreement before signing it. The Territory typically is defined by cities, counties, or specific zip codes and will be narratively described in, and pictorially identified on a map attached to, the DRA. We base the Territory's size primarily on the number of BIG BLUE Swim Schools you agree to develop, demographics, the number of distinct trade areas and competitive businesses within the Territory, and site availability. We will determine the number of Schools you must develop, the deadlines for signing their leases, Franchise Agreements, and SaaS Agreements, and the deadlines for opening them to keep your development rights. We and you then will complete the schedule in the DRA before signing it. Each site proposed for a BIG BLUE Swim School to be developed under the DRA must be acceptable to us. After each proposed site is accepted and secured, we will determine the Area of Protection for that School. Our then-current standards for sites and Areas of Protection will apply.
We have the right to terminate the DRA if you do not satisfy any deadline under the DRA. You may not develop or operate BIG BLUE Swim Schools outside the Territory.
While the DRA is in effect, we (and our affiliates) will not establish and operate or grant to others the right to establish and operate BIG BLUE Swim Schools (operating the Swim School Concept) having their physical locations within the Territory—unless we are allowed to exercise the Qualified Site Lease Rights. This means that while the DRA is in effect (and except for our Qualified Site Lease Rights), you have exclusive rights in the Territory to physical locations for the Swim School Concept operating under the Marks. This is the only restriction on our (and our affiliates') activities within the Territory during the development term.
If you (or your Approved Affiliate) reject a Qualified Site (defined in Item 11 above) for a BIG BLUE Swim School to be constructed and developed within the Territory and do not correct that failure by accepting the Qualified Site within 10 days after we deliver written notice of default, then we have the right to establish and operate, or grant to another franchisee the right to establish and operate, a BIG BLUE Swim School at that Qualified Site and to sign a lease for that Qualified Site (together, the "Qualified Site Lease Rights"). We have the right to exercise the Qualified Site Lease Rights even if you are not then otherwise in default under the development schedule or the DRA. (Qualified Site Lease Rights are exercisable more than once during the DRA's term.
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 51–55)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Big Blue Swim School's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the Territory granted in the Development Rights Agreement (DRA) is a specific area consisting of distinct trade areas. Big Blue Swim School and the franchisee will identify this Territory in the Development Rights Agreement before it is signed. The Territory is typically defined by cities, counties, or specific zip codes. This will be described in the DRA and shown on a map attached to the agreement.
The size of the Territory is determined by several factors, including the number of Big Blue Swim Schools the franchisee agrees to develop, the demographics of the area, the number of distinct trade areas and competitive businesses present, and the availability of suitable sites. Big Blue Swim School will determine the number of schools the franchisee must develop, along with deadlines for signing leases, Franchise Agreements, and SaaS Agreements, as well as deadlines for opening the schools. These details will be included in a schedule within the DRA.
Big Blue Swim School retains the right to modify the Territory under certain conditions. Specifically, if Big Blue Swim School exercises its Qualified Site Lease Rights (either directly or through another franchisee), it can unilaterally amend the Territory to exclude the site subject to those rights and an area of protection around that site. This amendment takes effect upon written notice to the franchisee, after which the franchisee loses development rights in the carved-out area. The construction and operation of a Big Blue Swim School within this carved-out area by Big Blue Swim School or another franchisee will not count towards the original franchisee's development schedule. However, the franchisee can elect to develop one less Big Blue Swim School in the Territory, with a prorated refund of the development fee for the removed school.