How are cooperative advertising fees credited for a Bigfoot Forestry franchisee?
Bigfoot_Forestry Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
If your Business is located in a region subject to an advertising cooperative you must: (a) participate in the cooperative according to its rules and procedures and abide by its decisions; and (b) pay a cooperative advertising fee. We may set the minimum cooperative advertising fee or we may allow the cooperative to set the fee based on majority vote of its members. In either case, the fee will not exceed 2% of Gross Sales. All cooperative advertising fees you pay are credited against your Local Marketing Commitment. Any companyowned Bigfoot Forestry Business located in the cooperative will contribute on the same basis as franchisees.
Advertising cooperatives are not required to prepare annual or periodic financial statements. Any financial statements that are prepared will be made available to you upon request. We reserve the right to form, change, merge or terminate advertising cooperatives at any time.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 22–29)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Bigfoot Forestry Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee's business is located in a region subject to an advertising cooperative, they must participate in the cooperative and pay a cooperative advertising fee. The franchisor may set the minimum fee or allow the cooperative to set it by a majority vote of its members. Regardless, the cooperative advertising fee will not exceed 2% of Gross Sales.
All cooperative advertising fees paid by the franchisee are credited against their Local Marketing Commitment. The Local Marketing Commitment is the greater of 2% of monthly Gross Sales or $1,000 per month. This means that the amount spent on cooperative advertising reduces the amount the franchisee is required to spend on local marketing efforts.
Bigfoot Forestry also states that any company-owned Bigfoot Forestry business located in the cooperative will contribute on the same basis as franchisees. The FDD also indicates that advertising cooperatives are not required to prepare annual or periodic financial statements, but any financial statements that are prepared will be made available to franchisees upon request. The franchisor reserves the right to form, change, merge, or terminate advertising cooperatives at any time.