Does Goldfish Swim School reserve the right to designate additional vendors or suppliers?
Goldfish_Swim_School Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
UCTS**
Standards and Specifications
You must purchase all of your supplies ("Approved Supplies") including without limitation your furniture, fixtures, equipment, including computer equipment, inventory, and signage under specifications in the Goldfish Swim School Confidential Brand Standards Manual ("Confidential Brand Standards Manual") and through suppliers approved by us ("Approved Suppliers"). You will be required to use Approved Suppliers to perform certain services on your behalf in connection with your Franchised Swim School. We communicate our standards and specifications to you when we evaluate your proposed location for the franchised swim school during training, before you conduct your initial advertising expense, during on-site opening assistance, during periodic visits to your franchise location and through the Confidential Brand Standards Manual (including periodic bulletins). We will periodically issue new standards and specifications (if any) through written notices. We have created standards and specifications for the development of your franchised swim school. We have required vendors and suppliers as identified in the Confidential Brand Standards Manual and we reserve the right to designate required additional vendors or suppliers, or revoke the approval of suppliers as we determine in our discretion from time to time in the future, and will provide you notice through the Confidential Brand Standards Manual. At this time, neither we, nor any of our officers or directors or anyone listed in ITEM 2 has any ownership or other interest in any Approved Supplier. At this time, neither we, nor any of our affiliates are the only approved suppliers of any categories of Approved Supplies.
You must purchase the types of insurance and coverage amounts as we determine from time to time as provided in our Brand Standards Manual. At this time, we require that you purchase the following types of insurance coverage at the following limits of liability, but we reserve the change the types of insurance coverage and/or the levels of coverage in the future through our Brand Standards Manual: special form property coverage on all assets at 100% replacement cost basis without coinsurance; workers compensation at the statutory requirements; employer liability coverage in the minimum coverage of $500,000; comprehensive general liability insurance in the amounts of $1,000,000 per occurrence and $2,000,000 in the aggregate;
business interruption insurance in amounts acceptable to us including loss of income and extra expense on a 12 month actual loss sustained basis without coinsurance; automobile liability insurance for owned or hired and non-owned auto with a combined single limit of at least $1,000,000; umbrella liability insurance with a minimum limit of $2,000,000; insurance as necessary to provide coverage under the indemnity provisions; registered participant accident coverage with a minimum limit of $25,000 per person occurrence; and cyber security coverage in amounts we determine from time to time.
You must purchase and maintain a computer system with hardware and software programs we designate. Presently, you must purchase hardware and software for your computer system that must meet our requirements from an Approved Supplier. The Technology Fee you pay to us gives you access to a custom email domain, Customer Relationship Management software, and Customer Scheduling/Billing/Payment software that is specific to our business. As part of the Technology Fee, you receive up to 20 software licenses. You will also be required to purchase networking equipment and security software from an Approved Supplier. You must purchase and install business class internet that meets our Standards and Specifications outlined in our Brand Standards Manual. You must also install and run an approved malware software and firewall solution as outlined in our Brand Standards Manual. Your wifi access must meet our Standards and Specifications as outlined in our Brand Standards Manual.
Source: Item 8 — RESTRICTIONS ON SOURCES OF SERVICES AND PRODUCTS (FDD pages 27–30)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Goldfish Swim School's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Goldfish Swim School retains the right to designate additional vendors or suppliers. As stated in Item 8, Goldfish Swim School may add or remove approved suppliers at their discretion, and franchisees will be notified of these changes through the Confidential Brand Standards Manual. This means that franchisees must purchase supplies, including furniture, fixtures, computer equipment, inventory, and signage, from suppliers approved by Goldfish Swim School.
Goldfish Swim School also reserves the right to establish exclusive arrangements with certain providers or suppliers for the benefit of the entire system, and franchisees are required to participate in these arrangements. This allows Goldfish Swim School to negotiate better prices with suppliers based on larger volumes, potentially leading to price discounts for franchisees. However, the FDD indicates that currently, Goldfish Swim School does not derive any material benefits from required purchases from approved suppliers, nor do they provide any material benefits to franchisees based on these purchases.
If a franchisee wishes to use goods or services from a non-approved supplier, they must submit sufficient information, specifications, and samples to Goldfish Swim School for evaluation. The franchisee is responsible for covering the costs of this evaluation. Goldfish Swim School will then decide within 30 days whether to approve the goods, services, or supplier. The criteria for approval include the supplier's ability to provide sufficient quantity of goods, the quality of goods or services at competitive prices, production and delivery capability, and dependability and general reputation.
Goldfish Swim School may periodically review its approval of goods, services, or suppliers and will notify franchisees if an approval is revoked. Franchisees must immediately stop purchasing disapproved goods or services from a disapproved supplier. The FDD estimates that a significant portion of a franchisee's expenditures, both during establishment (80% to 95%) and ongoing operations (35% to 45%), will be for goods and services that must be purchased from approved suppliers or according to Goldfish Swim School's standards and specifications.