Under what conditions can Bojangles change the nature of membership of Bojangles Express Restaurants in a DMA?
Bojangles Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Upon each question that may come before the membership for vote, each member shall be entitled to one vote for each Restaurant owned by that member and located within the DMA or transferred franchisee into the DMA by election under specific provisions of the Expense Sharing Agreement. All matters voted on require a majority vote of the members unless provided otherwise in the Expense Sharing Agreement. If a DMA contains both Bojangles Express Restaurants and freestanding, independent Restaurants, we may change the nature of membership of Bojangles Express Restaurants by giving written notice to all members granting Bojangles Express Restaurants one-half vote and full-size, freestanding Restaurants one vote each. In DMAs in which there are company-operated Restaurants, we may acquire the voting rights of some franchisees which may give us voting control of the cooperative. As a condition to the sale of existing company-operated Restaurants, we may retain the voting rights of the transferred Restaurants in the cooperative.
Source: Item 11 — FRANCHISOR'S ASSISTANCE, ADVERTISING, COMPUTER SYSTEMS AND TRAINING (FDD pages 37–49)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bojangles's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, the company can alter the membership structure of Bojangles Express Restaurants within a Designated Market Area (DMA) under specific circumstances. If a DMA includes both Bojangles Express Restaurants and full-size, freestanding restaurants, Bojangles has the authority to modify the membership of Bojangles Express Restaurants.
Specifically, Bojangles can implement this change by providing written notification to all members. This notice would grant Bojangles Express Restaurants one-half vote each, while full-size, freestanding restaurants would receive one vote each. This adjustment in voting rights could impact the decision-making processes within the cooperative advertising organizations, as it changes the relative influence of different types of Bojangles restaurants.
Additionally, in DMAs where Bojangles operates company-owned restaurants, the company may acquire voting rights from some franchisees. This acquisition could potentially give Bojangles voting control over the cooperative, further influencing advertising and promotional strategies within that DMA. As a condition of selling existing company-operated restaurants, Bojangles may also retain the voting rights of those transferred restaurants in the cooperative.