What is the title of the manager required if the Fitstop franchisee is not the full-time operator?
Fitstop Franchise · 2024 FDDAnswer from 2024 FDD Document
If you are not willing to be the full-time operator of your business, then you will be required to engage a manager and have them complete our training program (the "Designated Manager"). The Designated Manager is not required to hold an equity interest in the franchisee entity.
Any and all Designated Manager(s) must sign our then-current prescribed form of Confidentiality and Non-Competition Agreement. If and when a Designated Manager leaves his/her/their employment at your Franchised Business, you must recruit a new Designated Manager within thirty (30) days and submit the replacement's qualifications to us for our review and approval (which may be conditioned on completion of certain "Management Criteria") before substituting a new Designated Manager at any of your locations (unless you resume taking over the day-to-day operations of the Franchised Business on a full-time basis).
Your Franchised Business must always be managed and staffed with at least one (1) individual who has successfully completed the components of the Initial Training Program associated with being an owner/operator or, if appropriate, Designated Manager. In the event you develop more than one (1) System
franchise, you must have a properly trained Designated Manager at each Franchised Business you have the right to own and operate (but are not serving as its on-site manager).
Source: Item 15 — OBLIGATION TO PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTUAL OPERATION OF THE FRANCHISE BUSINESS (FDD pages 40–41)
What This Means (2024 FDD)
According to Fitstop's 2024 Franchise Disclosure Document, if a franchisee is not the full-time operator of their Fitstop location, they are required to engage a manager who has completed Fitstop's training program. This manager is referred to as the "Designated Manager." The Designated Manager is not required to have any equity interest in the franchisee's business entity.
Fitstop requires that the Designated Manager sign a Confidentiality and Non-Competition Agreement. If the Designated Manager leaves their position, the franchisee must find a replacement within thirty days and submit their qualifications to Fitstop for approval. Fitstop may require the replacement to meet certain "Management Criteria" before they can be appointed. However, this requirement is waived if the franchisee resumes full-time management of the Fitstop location.
Fitstop mandates that each franchise location must always have at least one individual who has successfully completed the Initial Training Program, either as an owner/operator or as a Designated Manager. If a franchisee owns and operates multiple Fitstop locations, each location must have a properly trained Designated Manager if the franchisee is not serving as the on-site manager.