By Annie Barbarika and Rob Bond
This is the sixth annual survey conducted by the National Minority Franchising Initiative. As in the past, our sole intent is to acknowledge those franchisors who best demonstrate their commitment to the recruitment, inclusion and on-going support of minorities through action. Our sense is that prospective minority franchisees want to be part of a system where their ethnic or racial group is already well represented. This allows them to gain insights before becoming a franchisee, and, equally importantly, access a strong peer group to provide continuing support and encouragement.
We estimate by extrapolating from a sample of hundreds of Franchisors that are active in North America that roughly 16% of all franchises are owned by minorities. This is a vast improvement from the 8-10% participation only 10 years ago. Although this number still falls short of the 28% of minorities in the overall population, we continue to be impressed with the growing number of minorities within the ranks of the franchising community.
To qualify for the “Top 50” list, several hundred franchisors submitted information on minority participation (African-American, Asian-American, Hispanic, South Asian, etc.) among their existing franchised and company-owned units, as well as their minority representation among senior management (defined as management with an annual salary over $60,000). The highest-scoring companies are listed in the attached “Top 50” listing.
Among those companies that responded, a most welcome trend has emerged. An increasing number of franchisors have a minority participation rate of over 50% among their franchisees and company-owned store managers. Nineteen companies, each with high percentage minority participation, are noted below, along with their industry group. Two industries clearly stand out – the maintenance industry and the insurance industry. Three of the companies (UCMAS, OXXO Cleaners and Churromania) have less than 43 operating units and so were not included in the larger list, but have outstanding minority representation.
|
Company |
Total Units |
Minority Units |
% Minority |
Industry |
|
Estrella Insurance |
51 |
51 |
100% |
Insurance |
|
UCMAS |
42 |
42 |
100% |
Education |
|
ATAX Accounting |
46 |
45 |
98% |
Tax/Accounting |
|
Flame Broiler |
114 |
111 |
97% |
Food |
|
OXXO Cleaners |
34 |
32 |
94% |
Cleaners |
|
Churromania |
13 |
12 |
92% |
Food |
|
Fiesta Insurance |
84 |
76 |
90% |
Insurance |
|
Anago Cleaning |
2,389 |
2,126 |
89% |
Maintenance |
|
Pronto Insurance |
119 |
105 |
88% |
Insurance |
|
Jan-Pro Cleaning |
10,290 |
9,089 |
88% |
Maintenance |
|
Vanguard Cleaning |
2,713 |
2,395 |
88% |
Maintenance |
|
Mint Condition |
234 |
204 |
87% |
Maintenance |
|
Coverall Cleaning |
9,137 |
7,862 |
86% |
Maintenance |
|
Church’s Chicken |
1,211 |
956 |
79% |
Food |
|
Jack in the Box |
2,252 |
1,702 |
76% |
Food |
|
New York Pizzeria |
56 |
38 |
68% |
Food |
|
7-Eleven |
6,916 |
4,544 |
66% |
Food/Convenience |
|
Juice It Up! |
86 |
57 |
66% |
Food |
|
Charley’s Grilled Subs |
466 |
294 |
63% |
Food |
It is worth noting that five companies (Churromania, Flame Broiler, Estrella Insurance, OXXO Cleaners and UCMAS) have 100% minority management. While the above list is by no means the definitive for the selection of an optimal franchise system, it is an excellent starting point for a review of the industry.
The National Minority Franchising Initiative has various resources, including books, FDDs, links, etc. that may be useful if you are considering the purchase of a franchise.
50 Top Franchises for Minorities
Selected by National Minority Franchising Initiative – NMFI
|
COMPANY |
WEBSITE |
|
360clean |
www.360clean.com |
|
7-Eleven |
www.7-11.com |
|
Always Best Care Senior Services |
www.abc-seniors.com |
|
Anago Cleaning Systems |
www.anagousa.com |
|
ATAX Accounting/Financial Services |
www.atax.com |
|
Bricks 4 Kidz |
www.bricks4kidz.com |
|
Burger King |
www.whopper.com |
|
Charley’s Grilled Subs |
www.charleys.com |
|
Chem-Dry Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning |
www.chemdry.com |
|
Choice Hotels (Clarion, Comfort Inn, Quality Inn, EconoLodge) |
www.choicehotels.com |
|
Church’s Chicken |
www.churchs.com |
|
CleanNet USA |
www.cleannetusa.com |
|
Coverall Health-Based Cleaning System |
www.coverall.com |
|
Cruise Planners |
www.cruiseplanners.com |
|
CruiseOne |
www.cruiseonefranchise.com |
|
Denny’s |
www.dennys.com |
|
Doc Popcorn |
www.docpopcorn.com |
|
Estrella Insurance |
www.estrellainsurance.com |
|
Fiesta Insurance |
www.fiestainsurance.com |
|
Flame Broiler |
www.flamebroilerusa.com |
|
Franchise Source Brands (Entrepreneur’s Source, AdviCoach) |
www.franchisesource.com |
|
Honest-1 Auto Care |
www.honest-1.com |
|
i9 Sports |
www.i9sports.com |
|
Jack in the Box |
www.jackinthebox.com |
|
Jan-Pro Cleaning Systems |
www.jan-pro.com |
|
Juice It Up! |
www.juiceitup.com |
|
Kahala Brands (Blimpie, Cold Stone, Great Steak, TacoTime) |
www.kahalamgmt.com |
|
Kiddie Academy |
www.kiddieacademy.com |
|
Liberty Tax |
www.libtax.com |
|
Little Caesars |
www.littlecaesars.com |
|
Maid to Perfection |
www.maidtoperfection.com |
|
Maids, The |
www.maids.com |
|
McDonald’s |
www.aboutmcdonalds.com |
|
Miami Subs |
www.miamisubs.com |
|
Mint Condition |
www.mintconditioninc.com |
|
New York Pizzeria |
www.nypizzeria.com |
|
Papa John’s |
www.papajohns.com |
|
Pop-A-Lock |
www.popalock.com |
|
Pronto Insurance |
www.prontofranchise.com |
|
Re/Max |
www.remax.com |
|
Red Roof Inn |
www.redroof.com |
|
Service Brands (Molly Maid, Mr. Handyman) |
www.servicebrands.com |
|
ServiceMaster (ServiceMaster Clean, Merry Maids, Furniture Medic) |
www.servicemaster.com |
|
Starwood Hotels (Four Points, Sheraton, Westin) |
www.starwoodhotels.com |
|
Street Corner |
www.streetcorner.com |
|
Tutor Doctor |
www.tutordoctor.com |
|
United Franchise Group (Sign-A-Rama, EmbroidMe) |
www.ufgcorp.com |
|
Vanguard Claning Systems |
www.vanguardcleaning.com |
|
Wingstop |
www.wingstop.com |
|
WSI |
www.wsiworld.com |