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TGI Fridays rolls out re-franchising initiative
The casual dining chain expects 90 percent of its growth to come from franchising.
As part of a re-franchising program, TGI Fridays has sold 175 stores to new and existing franchisees nearly six months ahead of schedule.
Last September, the Carrollton restaurant chain announced a plan to offer most of its 247-company-owned restaurants to potential and pre-existing franchisees in exchange for the operators committing to a re-imaging program for the stores. The company sold a combined 38 restaurants to existing franchisees, with New Orleans-based Southeast Restaurant Group buying 20 in the southern U.S. and Atlanta’s Jackmont Hospitality buying 16 in south Florida and two in North Carolina. New franchisee groups bought the remaining stores.
“We felt the best long-term opportunity was to re-franchise the majority of our stores and focus on being a great brand owner. It’s about ensuring that the brand remains vibrant and appeals to consumers,” said Friday’s President and COO Ricky Richardson in a press release.
A “restaurant refresh” is planned for 122 of the re-franchised locations in an effort to “brighten up and contemporize” the interiors and exteriors, which includes taking down divider walls between the dining room and bar area to make the bar a bigger part of the restaurant experience.
Now that re-franchising is complete, Fridays continues to look for both franchise and company-owned restaurants. The chain expects 90 percent of its growth will come from franchising.
“Having successful business individuals with strong balance sheets is just a ticket to entry,” Richardson said. “We center around personality and perspective of the ownership group. It’s very much an experience brand, not a transaction brand.”
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About the Author
Nick Powills
FollowNick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.
