Who owns the customer data collected or provided by Pearce Bespoke franchisees?
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, the franchisor maintains ownership of all customer data. Pearce Bespoke may either maintain a customer list itself or require the franchisee to do so. This list includes customer names, addresses, ages, and activity statistics. The collection and maintenance of this data must comply with local data privacy laws and the technologies and processes approved by Pearce Bespoke in its Operations Manual.
Pearce Bespoke may require franchisees to use approved contact management software and to supply the customer list electronically on a monthly basis. All customer data collected or provided by the franchisee, retrieved from the franchisee's computer or point-of-sale system, or otherwise collected from the franchisee by Pearce Bespoke, is the exclusive property of Pearce Bespoke. This data is considered Pearce Bespoke's proprietary and confidential information.
Pearce Bespoke has the right to use this customer data in any manner without compensating the franchisee. However, Pearce Bespoke licenses the use of this data back to the franchisee solely for the purpose of operating the Pearce Bespoke franchise. This license automatically terminates upon the expiration or termination of the Franchise Agreement.
This arrangement is typical in franchising, as it allows Pearce Bespoke to maintain brand consistency, conduct market research, and implement national marketing campaigns. However, it means that franchisees do not build equity in the customer data they collect during the course of their business.