From whom are Big Blue Swim School franchisees required to purchase or lease Operating Assets?
Big_Blue_Swim_School Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
seeking injunctive relief to restrain any subsequent or continuing violation, and/or formally defaulting you and terminating this Agreement under Section 19.B.
7.D. Approved Services, Products, and Suppliers
We may periodically designate and approve Brand Standards, manufacturers, suppliers, and/or distributors for the Operating Assets and other services and products we periodically authorize for use or sale by BIG BLUE Swim Schools. You must purchase or lease all Operating Assets and other services and products you use or sell at the School only according to our Brand Standards and, if we require, only from suppliers or distributors we designate or approve (which may include or be limited to us, certain of our affiliates, and/or other restricted sources). We and/or our affiliates may derive revenue based on your purchases and leases, including, without limitation, from charging you (at prices exceeding our and their costs) for services and products we or our affiliates sell you and from promotional allowances, volume discounts, and other amounts paid to us and our affiliates by suppliers that we designate, approve, or recommend for some or all BIG BLUE Swim School franchisees. We and our affiliates may use all amounts received from suppliers, whether or not based on your and other franchisees' prospective or actual dealings with them, without restriction for any purposes we and our affiliates deem appropriate.
7.D.1 If you want to purchase or lease any Operating Assets or other products or services from a supplier or distributor we have not then approved (if we require you to buy or lease the product or service only from an approved supplier or distributor), then you must establish to our reasonable satisfaction that the product or service is of equivalent quality and functionality to the product or service it replaces and the supplier or distributor is, among other things, reputable, financially responsible, and adequately insured for product liability claims. You must pay upon request any actual expenses and TRE we incur to determine whether or not the products, services, suppliers, or distributors meet our requirements and specifications.
7.D.2 We may condition our written approval of a supplier or distributor on requirements relating to product quality and safety; third-party lab testing; prices; consistency; warranty; supply-chain reliability and integrity; financial stability; customer relations; frequency, economy, and efficiency of delivery; concentration of purchases; standards of service (including prompt attention to complaints); and other criteria.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 75–76)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Big Blue Swim School Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees must purchase or lease all Operating Assets according to Big Blue Swim School's Brand Standards. If required by Big Blue Swim School, franchisees must purchase or lease these assets only from designated or approved suppliers or distributors. These suppliers or distributors may include Big Blue Swim School itself, its affiliates, or other restricted sources.
Big Blue Swim School and its affiliates may receive revenue from these purchases and leases. This revenue can come from charging franchisees prices exceeding their costs for services and products, as well as from promotional allowances, volume discounts, and other payments from designated, approved, or recommended suppliers. Big Blue Swim School and its affiliates have the right to use these supplier-derived revenues without restriction for any purposes they deem appropriate.
If a franchisee wishes to purchase or lease Operating Assets or other products/services from a non-approved supplier, they must prove to Big Blue Swim School that the product/service is of equivalent quality and functionality. The supplier must also be reputable, financially responsible, and adequately insured. The franchisee is responsible for covering any expenses Big Blue Swim School incurs to assess whether the proposed products, services, suppliers, or distributors meet their requirements and specifications. Big Blue Swim School may limit the number of approved suppliers and distributors, designate specific sources, and refuse a franchisee's requests for any reason, including having an exclusive source for a particular item or service.