Can Zoomin Groomin establish and operate a Zoomin Groomin franchised business outside of a franchisee's territory?
Zoomin_Groomin Franchise · 2025 FDDAnswer from 2025 FDD Document
. A year will include each fiscal year (including any partial year) ending on December 31.
1.7.Dual Distribution
A. Protected Territory
You will not receive an exclusive territory. You may face competition from other franchisees, from outlets that we own, or from other channels of distribution or competitive brands that we control. However, you will receive a protected territory, meaning a geographical area within which we promise not to establish a Zoomin Groomin company owned or franchised outlet. You may not accept orders from consumers to provide Services outside of your Territory, nor may you use other channels of distribution, such as the Internet, catalog sales, telemarketing, or other direct marketing, to make sales outside your Territory without our prior written approval as provided in Section 1.3 (C) of this Agreement.
B. Limitations on Exclusivity
Your right to exclusivity is limited by our Reserved Rights under Section 1.1. (E) of this Agreement and this Section 1.7. You may also face competition from other franchisees, outlets that we own, other channels of distribution or competitive brands that we control for a Client that resides in your Territory.
C. Other Brands
We or an affiliate may make sales within your Territory using trademarks different from the ones you will use under this Agreement. As of the Effective Date, we and our parent plan to establish (or acquire) and operate or franchise a business under a different trademark which will sell goods or services similar to those you will offer. Under this plan, franchisees will offer pet grooming services through brick-and-mortar locations under a different trademark. As the new franchise system develops, the new franchisor or its franchisees who use the different trademark will solicit and accept orders within your Territory.
D. Profit Passover
We are not obligated to pay compensation to you for soliciting or accepting sales from a Client inside your Territory. However, we will normally direct all inquiries for mobile pet grooming from within your Territory to your Franchised Business.
Source: Item 9 — 01. Financial Statements and Exhibits. (FDD pages 68–156)
What This Means (2025 FDD)
According to the 2025 Zoomin Groomin Franchise Disclosure Document, franchisees do not receive an exclusive territory. However, franchisees do receive a protected territory, which is a geographical area where Zoomin Groomin promises not to establish a company-owned or franchised outlet.
Zoomin Groomin and its affiliates retain the right to make sales within a franchisee's territory using different trademarks or through different channels of distribution. For example, Purely Pets LLC d/b/a Salty Dawg, a Zoomin Groomin affiliate, and their franchisees offer brick-and-mortar pet grooming services under the Salty Dawg trademark. Additional competitive brands may be acquired or developed by Zoomin Groomin, its parent, or its affiliates in the future, and these brands may operate and offer competitive products or services regardless of their proximity to a franchisee's protected territory or approved location.
Zoomin Groomin may grant a franchisee temporary permission to operate outside of their territory, but this permission is not permanent. To gain protected rights over a geographical region outside their territory, a franchisee must purchase franchise rights for that area under the current disclosure document and franchise agreement. If a franchisee operates outside their territory, they may develop business relationships that will need to be transitioned to a new franchisee if the area is sold. The franchisee has no right of first refusal in such an area, and any undeveloped area could be sold to a new franchisee at any time.
If Zoomin Groomin notifies a franchisee that a new franchisee has purchased rights to operate in an area where the original franchisee has been operating outside their territory, the original franchisee must immediately stop providing services to clients in that area. They must also provide a list of all clients served in the area to the new franchisee and make commercially reasonable efforts to transition the business to the new franchisee. Failure to comply with these requirements or operating outside the assigned territory without permission can result in termination of the franchise agreement, and any funds earned may be transferred to the franchisee whose territory was infringed upon.