factual

What kind of activities are City Publications franchisees prohibited from engaging in?

City_Publications Franchise · 2025 FDD

Answer from 2025 FDD Document

s, executives, and professional staff and managers and the spouses of each of the foregoing sign a like restrictive covenant which shall protect both Franchisor and Franchisee. Said covenants shall remain on file at the offices of Franchisee and are subject to audit or review as otherwise set forth herein.

A. Restriction During Term of Agreement

Franchisee covenants that, except as otherwise approved in writing by Franchisor, neither Franchisee nor any partner(s), officer(s), director(s), member(s), executives, professional staff or sales staff or the spouses of any of the foregoing shall, during the term hereof, either directly or indirectly, for itself or through, on behalf of or in conjunction with, any person, persons, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or other entity:

    1. Own an interest in, manage, operate, be employed, in a sales or management capacity, by, or act as a consultant to any Competitive Business anywhere;
    1. Initiate any action to hire, or attempt to hire for any other employer, any person who is employed by Franchisor or employed by any other franchisee of the CITY PUBLICATIONS System, or induce any such person to leave his employment with Franchisor or any other franchisee in order to work for any other employer, whether or not the person's employment with the business is pursuant to a written agreement or is at will; or
    1. Divert business of customers of the Franchised Business or other Franchisor or franchisee-owned CITY PUBLICATIONS Businesses to any Competitive Business.

B. Restriction After Termination

Franchisee covenants that, except as otherwise approved in writing by Franchisor, neither Franchisee nor any partner(s), officer(s), director(s), member(s), executives, or professional staff or sales staff or their spouses of any of the foregoing shall for a period of two (2) years after the expiration or termination of this Agreement regardless of the cause, either directly or indirectly, for itself or through, on behalf of or in conjunction with, any person, persons, partnership, corporation, limited liability company or other entity:

    1. Own an interest in, manage, operate, be employed, in a sales or management capacity, by, or act as a consultant to any Competitive Business anywhere within the Exclusive Territory granted to Franchisee, or within a radius of twenty-five (25) miles of any other Franchisor or franchisee-owned CITY PUBLICATIONS Business;
    1. Initiate any action to hire, or attempt to hire for any other employer, any person who is employed by Franchisor or employed by any other franchisee of the CITY PUBLICATIONS System, or induce any such person to leave his employment with Franchisor or any other franchisee in order to work for any other employer, whether or not the person's employment with the business is pursuant to a written agreement or is at will; or
    1. Solicit business from customers of Franchisee's former CITY PUBLICATIONS business or other Franchisor or franchisee-owned CITY PUBLICATIONS Businesses.

C. Reasonableness of Restrictions

Franchisee acknowledges that the restrictive covenants contained in Section 17 are essential elements of this Agreement

and that without their inclusion, Franchisor would not have entered into this Agreement.

Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 39–129)

What This Means (2025 FDD)

According to City Publications' 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, during the term of the agreement, franchisees are restricted from certain activities, unless they receive written approval from the franchisor. Specifically, franchisees (including their partners, officers, directors, members, executives, professional staff, sales staff, and their spouses) are prohibited from owning an interest in, managing, operating, being employed by, or acting as a consultant to any Competitive Business. A Competitive Business is defined as one that sells direct mail advertising or similar services, or where confidential information could be used to the disadvantage of City Publications. This includes magazines, print ads, internet advertising, email advertising, QR codes, and search engine optimization services. However, owning less than 5% of the stock of a publicly-traded corporation that offers similar services as an ancillary product (less than 10% of their gross sales) is permitted.

City Publications franchisees are also prohibited from attempting to hire or inducing employees of the franchisor or other franchisees to leave their employment. Additionally, they cannot divert business from customers of their franchised business or other City Publications businesses to any Competitive Business.

These restrictions also extend for a period of two years after the termination or expiration of the franchise agreement. During this time, franchisees are prohibited from engaging in the same competitive activities within a certain geographic area. These restrictions are in place to protect City Publications' market share, confidential information, and franchise system. Franchisees acknowledge that these restrictions are essential to the agreement and are fair and reasonable for the protection of the franchisor and the franchise system.

Disclaimer: This information is extracted from the 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document and is provided for research purposes only. It does not constitute legal or financial advice. Consult with a franchise attorney before making any investment decisions.