What are the restrictions on a Clear Pest Pros franchisee using Alternative Distribution Channels?
Clear_Pest_Pros Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Clear Pest Pros Businesses and Company Stores may not advertise within your Territory without your and our written approval. You may not advertise or service in any way, any customers outside the Territory, even if the area has not been awarded to another Clear Pest Pros Business or Company Store, without our prior written permission. All zip-codes that have not been awarded to a Clear Pest Pros Business or Company Store are corporately owned ("Clear Pest Pros Corporate Territory") and you may not advertise or provide Services there without our prior written permission.
Although we have not done so, we and our affiliates may sell products under the Marks within and outside the Territory through any method of distribution, although within your Territory it may not be through a Clear Pest Pros Business. This includes sales through such channels of distribution as the Internet, catalog sales, telemarketing, or other direct marketing sales (collectively, the "Alternative Distribution Channels"). You may not use Alternative Distribution Channels to make sales outside or inside the Territory and you may not receive compensation for our sales through Alternative Distribution Channels except as described in the following paragraph.
If we engage in electronic commerce through any Internet, World Wide Web, or other computer network site, or sell through any other Alternative Distribution Channel, and we receive orders for any System products or residential Services calling for delivery or performance in your Territory, we will offer the order to you at the price we establish. If you choose not to fulfill the order, if you do not meet the requirements, or if you are otherwise unable to fulfill the order, then we, or another Clear Pest Pros Business or Company Store may fulfill the order, and you will be entitled to no compensation in connection therewith.
We and our affiliates may use Alternative Distribution Channels to make sales within the Territory of products or services under trademarks different from the Marks you will use under the Franchise Agreement.
Source: Item 12 — TERRITORY (FDD pages 49–53)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Clear Pest Pros's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees face specific restrictions regarding the use of Alternative Distribution Channels. Clear Pest Pros and its affiliates retain the right to sell products under the brand's trademarks through various methods, including the Internet, catalog sales, telemarketing, and other direct marketing sales, collectively known as "Alternative Distribution Channels," both within and outside a franchisee's territory. However, within a franchisee's territory, such sales cannot be conducted through another Clear Pest Pros Business.
Franchisees are explicitly prohibited from using Alternative Distribution Channels to make sales either inside or outside their designated territory. Furthermore, they are not entitled to any compensation for sales made by Clear Pest Pros through these Alternative Distribution Channels, except under specific circumstances. If Clear Pest Pros engages in electronic commerce and receives orders for System products or residential services within a franchisee's territory, the franchisee will be offered the opportunity to fulfill the order at the established price.
However, if the franchisee chooses not to fulfill the order, fails to meet the requirements, or is otherwise unable to complete the order, Clear Pest Pros or another franchisee or company store may fulfill the order, and the original franchisee will not receive any compensation. Clear Pest Pros and its affiliates also reserve the right to use Alternative Distribution Channels to sell products or services within a franchisee's territory under trademarks different from those used by the franchisee under the Franchise Agreement. This allows Clear Pest Pros to explore different market segments or product lines without directly competing with its franchisees using the core Clear Pest Pros brand.