What is a Deka Lash Designated Search Area?
Deka_Lash Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
3.8 Non-Exclusive Designated Search Area. Unless specified otherwise, we will provide you with a non-exclusive "Designated Search Area" as defined in Section 1 of Schedule 1 of your Franchise Agreement within which you must locate your Franchised Business.
3.9 Exclusive Designated Search Area.
If your Designated Search Area contains exclusive rights, such as being part of an Area Development Agreement, while we will not license anyone the right to open or operate a Franchised Business that is physically located within that Exclusive Designated Search Area, this does not mean you can open or operate a Franchised Business anywhere within that Exclusive Designated Search Area.
If a franchisee secures a location near your Exclusive Designated Search Area, and their associated protective radius (generally 1.5 miles) overlaps into your Exclusive Designated Search Area, you will not be able to locate a studio within the protected radius that overlaps your Exclusive Designated Search Area.
We will let you know of any existing studios that have protective radius overlapping into your Exclusive Designated Search Area prior to execution of this agreement, but we make no warranties that a franchisee will not subsequently choose a location that creates a protective radius that overlaps into the Exclusive Designated Search Area.
- 3.10 Protected Area Temporary Protection. We will not define a Franchise Location or Protected Area until you have an executed lease.
However, upon the submission of a fully executed Letter of Intent ("LOI") to us for a proposed location for the Franchised Business that we have approved, we will create a temporary protected radius around said proposed location within which we will not locate any other Franchised Business.
We will grant this protected radius for a period of up to 60 days to allow you to negotiate and finalize a lease for the proposed location.
While you may have multiple fully executed LOI's, we will only grant a protected radius around one of the proposed locations you designate.
This designation shall be made to us in writing, accompanied by the associated signed LOI, and we have up to 5 business days to accept such designation.
3.11 Protective Area Defined. Once the lease for the site is approved by us, fully executed, and submitted to us, we will then define the Franchise Location and associated Protected Area in Section 2 and Section 3 of the Schedule 1 to the Franchise Agreement, which will supersede the temporary protected radius noted above.
3.12 Lease Length. You must sign a lease for a minimum of five (5) years with optional extension terms.
Source: Item 23 — RECEIPT (FDD pages 63–234)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to the 2024 Deka Lash Franchise Disclosure Document, a Designated Search Area is a geographic area within which a franchisee must locate their Deka Lash studio. Unless specified otherwise in the Franchise Agreement, the Designated Search Area is non-exclusive. This means that Deka Lash may allow other franchisees to search for locations within the same area. However, if the Designated Search Area contains exclusive rights, such as being part of an Area Development Agreement, Deka Lash will not license anyone else the right to open or operate a Franchised Business that is physically located within that Exclusive Designated Search Area.
The FDD also states that if a franchisee secures a location near another franchisee's Exclusive Designated Search Area, and their associated protective radius (generally 1.5 miles) overlaps into that Exclusive Designated Search Area, the other franchisee will not be able to locate a studio within the protected radius that overlaps their Exclusive Designated Search Area. Deka Lash will inform franchisees of any existing studios that have protective radius overlapping into their Exclusive Designated Search Area prior to the execution of the agreement, but Deka Lash makes no warranties that a franchisee will not subsequently choose a location that creates a protective radius that overlaps into the Exclusive Designated Search Area.
Deka Lash offers temporary protection for a proposed location once a fully executed Letter of Intent (LOI) is submitted and approved, creating a protected radius for up to 60 days while the franchisee finalizes the lease. Once the lease is approved and executed, Deka Lash will define the Franchise Location and Protected Area, superseding the temporary protected radius. The franchisee must sign a lease for a minimum of five years with optional extension terms.