Under what circumstances might Degree Wellness require a General Manager to have an equity interest in the franchise?
Degree_Wellness Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
4.1 General Manager. At your request, we may, but are not obligated to, agree for you to employ a general manager to operate the Franchise ("General Manager"). The term "General Manager" means an individual with primary day-to-day responsibility for the Franchise's operations, and may or may not be you (if you are an individual) or a Principal Owner, officer, director, or employee of yours (if you are other than an individual). We may or may not require that the General Manager have an equity interest in the Franchise. The General Manager will be obligated to devote his or her full time, best efforts, and constant personal attention to the Franchise's operations, and must have full authority from you to implement the System at the Franchise. You must not hire any General Manager or successor General Manager without first receiving our written approval of such General Manager's qualifications. Each General Manager and successor General Manager must attend and complete our Initial Training (as defined herein) prior to commencing the role of General Manager. No General Manager may have any interest in or business relationship with any business competitor of your franchise. Each General Manager must sign a written agreement, in a form approved by us, to maintain confidential our Confidential Information described in Paragraph 9.1, to abide by non-solicitation and non-disparagement covenants, and to abide by the covenants not to compete described in Paragraph 9.3. We can provide a form for this required written agreement, however, our form is subject to review by your attorney for compliance with all local laws and rules. You must forward to us a copy of each such signed agreement. If we determine, in our sole discretion, during or following completion of the Initial Training program, that your General Manager (if any) is not qualified to act as General Manager of the Franchise, then we have the right to require you to choose (and obtain our approval of) a new individual for that position.
Source: Item 23 — Receipts (FDD pages 66–257)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Degree Wellness's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Degree Wellness may or may not require that a General Manager have an equity interest in the franchise. The decision to require an equity interest is at Degree Wellness's discretion.
This means that as a prospective franchisee, you might need to consider the possibility of sharing ownership or profits with your General Manager. This could impact your financial planning and the overall management structure of your franchise. It is important to note that a General Manager is an individual with primary day-to-day responsibility for the Franchise's operations.
Before hiring a General Manager, Degree Wellness requires written approval of the General Manager's qualifications. The General Manager must devote full time and best efforts to the franchise operations and have full authority to implement Degree Wellness's system. The General Manager must also attend and complete initial training. Degree Wellness also requires that the General Manager sign a written agreement to maintain the confidentiality of Degree Wellness's confidential information, abide by non-solicitation and non-disparagement covenants, and abide by the covenants not to compete.