Franchising as a business structure that has been in existence in Europe since the middle ages. The system was different but had the same fundamentals. Land owners would grant rights to peasants, farmers and merchants to use their land in return for a fee. Modern franchising came about in the 1850’s with the Singer Sewing Company.
In 1850, Isaac Merritt Singer, examined The Lerow and Blodgett sewing machine and found that the machine was impractical because the needle moved in a circle. Eleven days and $40 later he had invented a sewing machine that’s needle moved up-and-down. In 1853, Singer began selling the machines for $100 each, but had difficulty selling his product because people didn’t know how to use it. His solution was to charge licensing fees to the buyers. They in turn they would build manufacturing plants, sell the sewing machines and teach the public how to use them.
What we know as modern franchising came onto the scene after World War II and the baby boom. In 1954, a milkshake salesman named Ray Kroc sold his five-spindled milk shake mixer, the Multimixer, to a hamburger stand owned by the Dick and Mac McDonald in San Bernardino, California. The mixers were so popular, the McDonalds asked Kroc to sell them to their other restaurants.
No comments yet.