Can Pearce Bespoke access information and data produced by the franchisee's POS system?
Pearce_Bespoke Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
Franchisor may maintain itself or require Franchisee to maintain a current listing of the names, addresses, ages and activity statistics of customers of the Franchisee, subject to strict compliance with local data privacy laws and the technologies and processes approved by Franchisor in the Operations Manual. To maintain such list, Franchisor may require that Franchisee use and keep updated approved contact management software. Franchisee may be asked to supply such list electronically on a monthly basis. Any and all customer data collected or provided by Franchisee, retrieved from Franchisee's computer system or point-of-sale system, or otherwise collected from Franchisee by Franchisor or provided to Franchisor, is and will be owned exclusively by Franchisor and will be considered to be Franchisor's proprietary and Confidential Information (as defined in Section 9 below). Franchisor has the right to use such data in any manner without compensation to Franchisee. Franchisor licenses to Franchisee the use of such data solely for the purpose of operating
the Pearce Bespoke Franchise; provided that, this license shall automatically and irrevocably terminate, without any additional action or notice required by Franchisor, upon the expiration or earlier termination of this Agreement.
Source: Item 22 — CONTRACTS (FDD page 39)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to Pearce Bespoke's 2025 Franchise Disclosure Document, Pearce Bespoke can access data from the franchisee's point-of-sale (POS) system. The FDD states that any and all customer data collected or provided by the franchisee, retrieved from the franchisee's computer system or point-of-sale system, or otherwise collected from the franchisee by Pearce Bespoke or provided to Pearce Bespoke, is owned exclusively by Pearce Bespoke. This data is considered Pearce Bespoke's proprietary and confidential information. Pearce Bespoke has the right to use this data in any manner without compensating the franchisee.
Pearce Bespoke licenses the use of this data back to the franchisee solely for operating the Pearce Bespoke franchise. However, this license automatically terminates upon the expiration or termination of the Franchise Agreement without any additional action or notice required from Pearce Bespoke. This means that upon termination of the agreement, the franchisee loses the right to use the customer data that was originally collected through their own operations.
In addition to customer data, franchisees must also deliver a signed and verified statement of weekly Gross Sales to Pearce Bespoke using required forms and methods, by Wednesday of each week for the preceding week. Franchisees must also provide Pearce Bespoke with quarterly and annual financial statements using the forms and chart of accounts Pearce Bespoke requires. The quarterly financial information must be delivered to Pearce Bespoke by the 30th day of the month following the end of the preceding quarter, and the annual financial statement must be provided on or before March 1 of each year for the preceding calendar year. The FDD also states that this financial data is owned by Pearce Bespoke, is Pearce Bespoke's proprietary information, may be published in franchise disclosure documents issued by Pearce Bespoke, and may be shared with other franchisees in the Business System.
This arrangement is fairly common in franchising, as it allows Pearce Bespoke to monitor the performance of individual franchises, maintain brand consistency, and leverage customer data for marketing and other strategic purposes. However, prospective franchisees should carefully consider the implications of relinquishing ownership of the data they collect and the extent to which Pearce Bespoke may use this data, especially after the franchise agreement terminates.