Franchise Law

The Globe And Mail:

One of the key concepts in franchising is creating brand awareness and consumer confidence by ensuring the consistency of the products and services that are offered by each franchisee of a particular franchise system.

For example, consumers expect they will be able to choose from the same menu items and dine in a similar atmosphere whether they are in a restaurant franchise’s location in Vancouver or Toronto. Ensuring consumers have a consistent experience between franchises of the same system is fundamental not only to consumer confidence, but to the long-term success of the franchisor and each of its franchisees.

Despite the importance to both franchisees and franchisors of ensuring a consistent consumer experience, there are exceptions to consistency that arise due to certain practical and legal considerations. An example of this is that franchisors with franchises in foreign countries sometimes have no choice but to vary the products and services their foreign franchisees sell in order to address the obvious cultural and language issues that arise in operating a franchise in a foreign country.

In addition, there are also certain laws that impact the level of consistency that a franchisor can mandate between its franchisees. One of the most important areas in which this arises in Canada is with respect to the price at which products and services can be offered for sale to consumers. Read full article.