Franchises Must Adapt to Spreading ‘Shop Local’ Mentality

The International Franchise Association may have lost its first battle over Seattle’s minimum wage hike, which is set to go into effect April 1, but the organization is far from done fighting.

“Yesterday’s decision is clearly a disappointment, but it is not the end of this fight,” Steve Caldeira, IFA president and CEO, said following the news that US District Judge Richard Jones denied the group’s request for an injunction against the city. “The ordinance is clearly discriminatory and would harm hardworking small-business owners who happen to be franchisees. Those who have set out to destroy the long-accepted, time-tested and proven franchise business model must be stopped.“

However, one group not being heard railing against the proposed minimum wage increase is the everyday customers of the franchises that will be impacted. Despite its reputation as an anti-capitalist Mecca, Seattle is home to a wide variety of franchise brands that have thrived in the city.

Remember, this is the birthplace of Starbucks, one of the largest franchises the world has ever seen.

Unfortunately, a willingness to shop at local franchises hasn’t translated to a desire to protect them, according to Forbes’ Carol Tice, herself a Seattle local.

Tice said “mobs of diners protesting the wage-hike law ” simply don’t exist, and attributed this to the fact that while plenty of people are happy to stop by Subway for a meal, they won’t exactly find themselves crying if the chain disappeared. People are all too happy to pig out at their favorite franchise, but many still see them as the Big Bad Wolf when compared to small businesses that don’t have the backing of a well-known brand.

In short, she maintained the “shop local” mentality has spread to the mainstream, and it’s up to franchises to adapt to this mindset. Chipotle was highlighted as a brand doing its best to make waves in a market that increasingly celebrates hyperlocal street cred by trying to source food from surrounding communities.

The IFA maintains that franchisees are small-business owners, and shouldn’t be lumped in with larger employers. The more pressing long-term issue may not be how the city views franchisees, but how consumers do.

Read the Forbes article here.