What is the maximum fee Hardees may charge for reviewing a supplier or distributor?
Hardees Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
quired to lease a location from us or an affiliate, we must consent to your selection of the site for your Hardee's Restaurant. If you lease the Restaurant premises from a third party landlord, you must sign the Franchise Lease Addendum attached as Appendix G to the Franchise Agreement.
Approval of a supplier or a distributor may be conditioned on requirements relating to the frequency of delivery, reporting capabilities, standards of service, including prompt attention to complaints, sanitation standards, insurance and other quality assurance requirements or other criteria, and concentration of purchases, as set forth above, and it may be temporary pending a further evaluation of the supplier by us. A fee not to exceed our actual costs of reviewing the supplier or distributor and auditing the supplier's facility, if needed, may be charged by us and must be paid by you. We may establish commissaries and distribution facilities owned and operated by us or an affiliate that we will designate as an approved supplier.
One or more of our officers may own nominal interests in certain of our approved suppliers which are publicly traded companies or through investment funds.
We and our affiliates may receive fees, payments, commissions, field-of-use license royalties or other consideration from approved suppliers based on sales to franchisees, from promotional allowances and volume discounts. We and our affiliates may use all amounts received from approved suppliers, distributors or third parties, whether or not based on your and/or other franchisees' actual or prospective dealings with them, without restriction for any purposes we or our affiliates deem appropriate. Finally, we and our affiliates provide supply chain, quality assurance, distribution and logistics services for the franchise system. These services include negotiating with suppliers and distributors who will sell and
distribute goods to our franchisees, designating one or more distributors to service our franchisees, and managing distribution logistics.
Source: Item 8 — Restrictions on Sources of Products and Services (FDD pages 39–42)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Hardees's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Hardees may charge a fee not exceeding their actual costs for reviewing a supplier or distributor and auditing the supplier's facility, if needed. This fee would be paid by the franchisee. This applies when Hardees approves a supplier or distributor for products, equipment, goods, or materials.
If a franchisee proposes to purchase goods or materials from a supplier not previously approved by Hardees, the franchisee must notify Hardees and submit the required information, specifications, and samples to Hardees or a designated independent testing laboratory, all at the franchisee's expense. In this case, Hardees, or the independent testing laboratory, may charge a fee not to exceed the reasonable cost of the inspection and the actual cost of the test, which the franchisee must pay. Hardees will then notify the franchisee within 60 days whether they are authorized to purchase from the proposed supplier.
In the event Hardees tentatively approves a request for an alternative supplier, the franchisee must submit a $1,500 deposit to cover the costs Hardees incurs in inspecting the supplier's facility. The franchisee will be responsible for any additional costs associated with the inspection, which must occur before final approval. Hardees may also require that testing be performed again periodically at the franchisee's expense to ensure the supplier continues to meet Hardees' specifications. Hardees will advise the franchisee in writing if any approvals are revoked.