May the designated or approved suppliers for Christies International Real Estate include affiliates or Christies International Real Estate itself?
Christies_International_Real_Estate Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
le, designated or approved supplier in the future.
You must purchase or lease certain Approved Items only from our designated or approved suppliers, which may include our affiliates or us. The Operations Manual will contain a list of approved suppliers and a list of approved items we deem necessary to operate your Business. These lists may include suppliers from which you must purchase certain items, or specific brands or types of items that you may buy from any source provided that the items conform to the standards and specification we designated. Approved suppliers, specifications, and standards are determined based on the current needs for operating Businesses, and we may make changes in the Operations Manual.
We consider a variety of factors when considering which suppliers we will deem as approved suppliers, such as price, service, quality, warranty, delivery terms, ability to provide products and services that meet our specifications, responsiveness, and other commercially reasonable benchmarks. If you want to use a material, supply, equipment, product or sign that we have not yet approved, or you want to purchase any items from any supplier that we have not approved, you must first notify us in writing and must submit to us, at our request, sufficient information, specifications, and samples for us to determine whether the services, material, supply, equipment, product or sign complies with our specifications and standards, or whether the supplier meets our approved supplier criteria. We reserve the right to approve or disapprove without any obligation to provide an explanation of the approval criteria to you. Within 90 days of receiving your request, we will either accept or reject the proposed item or supplier. You will not distribute or offer for sale any products or services of the proposed supplier until you receive our written approval. We do not charge a fee to evaluate alternative supplier or items. We may revoke our approval of any supplier or item with 30 days' prior written notice to you. Upon receipt of written notice of such revocation, you must cease to purchase from the disapproved supplier(s) or to purchase the disapproved item(s).
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 20–24)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Christies International Real Estate's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, designated or approved suppliers may include Christies International Real Estate or its affiliates. Franchisees may be required to purchase or lease certain approved items from these designated or approved suppliers. The Operations Manual will contain a list of approved suppliers and items deemed necessary to operate the business. These lists may include suppliers from which franchisees must purchase certain items, or specific brands or types of items that they may buy from any source provided that the items conform to the designated standards and specifications.
Christies International Real Estate retains the right to name themselves, their affiliates, or a third party as the sole or one of the approved suppliers for one or more approved items. However, as of the issuance date of the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, neither Christies International Real Estate nor its affiliates are the sole supplier for approved items, except for the proprietary software and marketing materials.
If a franchisee wants to use a material, supply, equipment, product, or sign that Christies International Real Estate has not yet approved, or wants to purchase any items from any supplier that they have not approved, the franchisee must first notify Christies International Real Estate in writing and submit sufficient information, specifications, and samples for Christies International Real Estate to determine whether the services, material, supply, equipment, product, or sign complies with their specifications and standards, or whether the supplier meets their approved supplier criteria. Christies International Real Estate will then either accept or reject the proposed item or supplier within 90 days of receiving the request.