Items13The creator’s order
  1. 1Isaac SingerIsaac SingerBorn 27 Oct 1811Licensed dealers. Singer's sewing machine company, run with his partner Edward Clark, sold territorial rights to independent agents in the 1850s, who paid for the right to sell and service machines in their area. It is often cited as an early forerunner of franchising, though Singer soon replaced…0i
  2. 2Martha Matilda HarperMartha Matilda HarperBorn 10 Sept 1857The first retail franchise system. Harper, a Canadian-born former servant, opened a hair salon in Rochester, New York, in 1888 and from 1891 licensed other women, many of them poor, to open Harper Method salons using her training, products and standards. By the 1920s there were hundreds worldwide.…0i
  3. 3Howard Deering JohnsonHoward Deering JohnsonBorn 2 Feb 1897Roadside restaurants. Johnson, who started with an ice cream stand in Quincy, Massachusetts, franchised his orange-roofed Howard Johnson's restaurants from 1935, when he lacked money to build them himself, supplying food from central commissaries so every outlet tasted the same. By the 1960s it was…0i
  4. 4Colonel SandersColonel SandersBorn 9 Sept 1890Franchising a recipe. Sanders, who ran a roadside café in Corbin, Kentucky, began licensing his fried chicken recipe and pressure-frying method to other restaurants in 1952, often in return for a few cents per chicken sold, travelling from town to town to sign them up. He sold Kentucky Fried…0i
  5. 5Kemmons WilsonKemmons WilsonBorn 5 Jan 1913Motel franchising. Wilson, a Memphis builder irritated by cramped, inconsistent motels on a family holiday, opened the first Holiday Inn in 1952 with standard features such as air conditioning, a pool and free stays for children, then franchised the formula to investors along America's new…0
  6. 6Ray KrocRay KrocBorn 5 Oct 1902The McDonald's system. Kroc, a milkshake-mixer salesman, signed a franchising deal with Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1954, enforced their fast, standardised kitchen across outlets, and later bought them out. He insisted on uniform quality, ran training at Hamburger University, and sold…0i
  7. 7Harry J. SonnebornHarry J. SonnebornBorn 12 Jun 1916Franchising as property. Sonneborn, McDonald's first president, saw that franchise fees alone barely paid, and from the late 1950s had the company lease or buy the land under restaurants and sublet it to franchisees at a mark-up. Rent became the core of McDonald's income and gave it control over…0
  8. 8Dave Thomas (businessman)Dave Thomas (businessman)Area franchising and the drive-through. Thomas learned the trade as a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchisee, turning round struggling outlets in Columbus, Ohio, before opening the first Wendy's there in 1969. Wendy's sold franchises for whole areas to developers who would build many outlets quickly,…0i
  9. 9Tom MonaghanTom MonaghanDelivery franchising. Monaghan bought a small pizza shop in Ypsilanti, Michigan, with his brother in 1960 and built Domino's around one promise, fast delivery, with a narrow menu and simple kitchens that franchisees could run near student and military towns. Its 30-minute guarantee was dropped in…0
  10. 10Fred DeLucaFred DeLucaBorn 3 Oct 1947Low-cost franchises at scale. DeLuca opened a sandwich shop in Bridgeport, Connecticut, in 1965 with a $1,000 loan from family friend Peter Buck, and Subway grew by selling cheap franchises that needed no cooking equipment, often using development agents who recruited franchisees for a cut. It…0i