What are 'Approved Suppliers' for Fitstop franchises?

Approved Suppliers**

We have the right to require you to purchase any items or services necessary to operate your Franchised Business from a supplier that we approve or designate – which we refer to as an "Approved Supplier" and may include us or our Affiliate(s). We will provide you with a list of our then-current Approved Suppliers in writing as part of the Manuals or otherwise in writing, and we may update or modify this list as we deem appropriate.

We are not currently the Approved Supplier for any Required Items you must acquire or use in connection with your Franchised Business, except: (i) any technology services we determine to provide as part of any Technology Fee we determine to establish in the future; and (ii) any ongoing Additional and/or Refresher Training, and/or new or replacement Instructor Training, that occurs once you have opened your Franchised Business, and for which we may charge our then-current Training Fee for the kind of training at issue; and (iii) any services we determine to provide as part of our current Fund.

As of the Issue Date, we expect and intend to have Approved Suppliers for the following items you must purchase in connection with your Franchised Business as of the Issue Date of this Disclosure Document: (i) certain furniture, fixtures, equipment and supplies you must purchase to buildout and/or operate your Franchised Business; (ii) site selection and other real estate services (recommended, but not necessarily required); (iii) software and technology we designate for use in connection with the System; (iv) signage furniture, fixtures, equipment, supplies and inventory comprising the Start-Up Equipment and Supplies

Package (detailed more fully in Item 8); (v) other inventory items and paper goods; (vi) branded items and retail merchandise, including certain Approved Products; (vii) certain marketing materials and services, which may include digital marketing and collateral such as flyers, coupons, banners, flags and similar promotional items; (viii) music licensing services (for use at your Premises); and (ix) project management and related services associated with the buildout and design of your Franchised Business (optional, not required).

Except as disclosed in this Item, (i) neither we nor any of our affiliates is currently an Approved Supplier for any other Required Item; and (ii) none of our officers own an interest in any third-party Approved Supplier.

We reserve the right to appoint ourselves, our affiliate(s) and/or any third party as the designated or Approved Supplier for any Required Item in the future, which we will communicate via the Manuals or other prior written notice.

Method of Approving Suppliers or Non-Approved Products

We may, but are not obligated to, grant your request to: (i) offer any products or services in connection with your Franchised Business that are not Approved Products and Services; or (ii) purchase any item or service we require you to purchase from an Approved Supplier from an alternative supplier.

If you wish to undertake either of these actions, you must request and obtain our approval in writing before: (i) using or offering the non-approved product or service in connection with your Franchised Business; or (ii) purchasing from a non-approved supplier. You must pay our then-current supplier or non-approved product or service evaluation fee when submitting your request. If you make such a proposal, we reserve the right to charge you the greater of (a) the costs/expenses we incur in evaluating/testing your proposal, and (b) $1,000 per proposal. We may ask you to submit samples or information so that we can make an informed decision whether the goods, equipment, supplies, services or supplier meet our specifications and quality standards.

Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF PRODUCTS AND SERVICES (FDD pages 19–23)