Under what conditions can an Initial Franchisee transfer Bojangles restaurants from one DMA to another?
Bojangles Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Any Initial Franchisee who is a member of a DMA owning Restaurants in more than one DMA may elect to have all or any of such Restaurants located in one DMA be transferred to such other DMA in which such Initial Franchisee shall also have Restaurants located.
Upon such transfer, such transferred Restaurants shall for all purposes hereunder (including, without limitation, voting and contributions) be treated as if located within the DMA to which such Restaurants are transferred.
Prior to the Initial Meeting of the DMA Membership, such transfer shall be effective upon such transferring Initial Franchisee giving written notice of such transfer to all Members of the DMA from which and to which such Restaurants are transferred.
Any such transfer made after the Initial Meetings of the DMA Membership shall be effective upon written notice to the chairman of the DMA to which and from which such Restaurant or Restaurants are transferred.
The right of transfer given hereunder to an Initial Franchisee shall be continuing for so long as such Initial Franchisee remains a Franchisee and may be exercised repeatedly irrespective of prior transfers; provided however, any such transfer after the Initial Meetings of DMA Membership called for herein shall be effective only as of the Transfer Date next following the date such elections shall have been made by such Initial Franchisee.
Provided further, nothing herein shall authorize the transfer of a Restaurant to any DMA except a DMA which may be adjacent to the DMA in which such Restaurant is physically located.
Provided further, no transfer shall be allowed of a Restaurant into a DMA if the county in which such Restaurant is physically located receives a substantially higher percentage of coverage (according to Nielsen Ratings) from television stations located in the DMA in which such Restaurant is physically located than from TV stations located in the DMA to which such transfer is sought.
No Initial Franchisee shall be entitled to make any transfer of Restaurants from one DMA to another hereunder unless such Initial Franchisee shall be current in its obligations to make DMA contributions at the time of such transfer.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 82)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Bojangles's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, an Initial Franchisee who owns restaurants in multiple Designated Market Areas (DMAs) has the option to transfer restaurants from one DMA to another under specific conditions.
First, the Initial Franchisee must be current on all obligations to make DMA contributions at the time of the transfer. This indicates that franchisees need to maintain good financial standing with the DMA to be eligible for transfers.
Second, after the initial meetings of the DMA membership, any transfer is only effective as of the Transfer Date, which is June 1 of each year, following the date the election for transfer is made. This implies that there is a specific annual window for transfers to take effect, requiring franchisees to plan their transfer requests accordingly.
Third, a restaurant can only be transferred to an adjacent DMA. Finally, a transfer is not allowed if the county in which the restaurant is physically located receives a substantially higher percentage of coverage from television stations located in its current DMA than from TV stations in the DMA it seeks to transfer to, based on Nielsen Ratings. This condition appears designed to ensure that advertising efforts remain effective and are not diluted by transferring restaurants to DMAs where they receive less media coverage.