Am I required to participate in a marketing cooperative established by Cicis?
Cicis Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
ontribution or to ensure that any you or any other franchisee benefits directly or pro rata from the Fund's activities.
- (5) Although the Fund is intended to be of perpetual duration, we may terminate the Fund. The Fund will not be terminated, however, until all monies in the Fund have been expended for marketing or promotional purposes or returned to all contributors, without interest, on the basis of their respective contributions.
- D. Cooperatives. We have the right, in our sole discretion, to designate any geographic area in which two or more Cicis Restaurants are located as a region for purposes of establishing a marketing cooperative ("Cooperative") to conduct marketing for the Cicis Restaurants located within the designated Cooperative area. You will be required to participate in any such Cooperative, in accordance with the rules established for the Cooperative, for the area in which your Restaurant is located. All contributions to the Cooperative will be maintained and administered in accordance with the Cooperative's governing documents, and the
Cooperative will be operated solely as a conduit for the collection and authorized expenditure of Cooperative contributions. Each Cooperative will be organized and governed in a form and manner, and will commence operation on a date, we determine in our sole discretion.
- E. Grand Opening. In addition to any other amounts you are required to contribute or spend under this Agreement, you will carry out and fund a grand opening promotion relating to the opening of your Restaurant as we specify in the Manuals or otherwise in writing. Amounts paid by you for the initial grand opening promotion will not be credited toward any other of your obligations under this Agreement.
- F. Business Listings.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD pages 64–65)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Cicis's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, if your Cicis restaurant is located in a geographic area that Cicis designates for a marketing cooperative, you are required to participate in that cooperative. Cicis has the sole discretion to designate any area with two or more Cicis restaurants as a region for establishing a marketing cooperative. Your participation must align with the rules established for that specific cooperative.
The purpose of the cooperative is to conduct marketing for Cicis restaurants within the designated area. All contributions to the cooperative will be managed according to the cooperative's governing documents. The cooperative acts as a conduit for collecting and spending contributions on authorized expenditures.
Cicis determines the organization, governance, and start date of each cooperative at its sole discretion. Franchisees are required to contribute the amounts specified by the cooperative's governing documents. These contributions may count toward the Local Marketing Spend requirement, except when the cooperative uses them for programs that do not meet the Local Marketing Spend criteria. Any Excess Cooperative Contributions cannot be used to offset the Local Marketing Spend. Cicis retains the right to aggregate or re-allocate funds between Fund Contributions, Local Marketing Spend, and Minimum Cooperative Contributions as it sees fit.