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Despite being faced with some challenges, the franchise sector has had cause for celebration on numerous occasions in the past year. Of these milestones, we’ve compiled a sample of them to illustrate the opportunity for success that is out there as we enter 2012, and continue climbing out of the current economic malaise.

Century 21 became the first real estate organization to be accepted into the American Society for Training & Development (ASTD) Forum this past summer. The ASTD Forum is a group of public and private organizations that collaborate by sharing and comparing practices in order to improve the learning function’s impact on business results. Current members also include American Express, The Boeing Company, and Wells Fargo.

2011 was the fifth year in a row Ace Hardware has been ranked first in J.D. Power and Associates’ 2011 U.S. Home Improvement Retailer Store Satisfaction Study.

In August, Edible Arrangements celebrated the 10th anniversary of their first franchise location near Boston in Waltham, Massachusetts.

After over 12 years of business, Maryland-based restaurant Squisito Pizza & Pasta launched their franchise program following two years of research and planning. The company wants to stay on the East Coast initially, opening in markets such as New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C. and Maryland.

The value, in dollars, of Dunkin’ Brands’ IPO (Initial Public Offering) when the company went public in July.

In June, Johnny Rockets celebrated their 25th anniversary by opening a restaurant at South Street Seaport, a historic landmark in New York City.

In November, Schlotzsky’s announced the signing of a franchise deal to bring 30 new restaurants to the Philadelphia metro area. The locations will also be multi-branded with Cinnabon and Carvel franchises inside the buildings.

The number of years Ed Fuller, current president and managing director of International Lodging for Marriott International, has been with the company. He has held no fewer than 10 positions within the company, and is expected to retire on March 31, 2012.

The number of years McDonald’s Hamburger University has been in service. The University has six international campuses and counts over 275,000 McDonald’s franchisees, employees, and suppliers worldwide as graduates.

7-Eleven celebrated its 84th birthday on July 11 by holding “Slurpee-brations” and birthday parties at select stores with music, entertainment, prizes and food sampling. The festivities were highlighted by a giveaway of five million free Slurpee Drinks in select locations across the country.

Charley’s Grilled Subs along with their largest franchise partner, the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, marked the opening of their 100th military location in September on Joint Base Lewis-McChord near Seattle, WA.

The number of military veterans Fastsigns is planning to hire in the next few years as a part of the International Franchise Association’s Operation Enduring Opportunity effort. In total, representatives of the program are aiming for 75,000 veterans and 5,000 wounded warriors to be hired into a variety of franchises by 2014.

The number of outlets in India eclipsed by Domino’s Pizza in late 2011. The company is pursuing an aggressive growth plan with prospects to add at least 80 stores annually in the country, with the target of opening its 500th Domino’s Pizza store there in 2012.

Store number that Sport Clips, largest men’s and boys’ hair care provider in the U.S., celebrated reaching in mid-October. The celebration was hosted in Seattle and included a free youth baseball camp and giving a donation to the Mariners Care organization.

Store number of the Jiffy Lube manager (Ryan Findley of Heartland Automotive Services, Inc. in Chesterfield, Mo.) awarded the company’s Presidential Store Manager Recognition Award for “outstanding achievement in training, operations, customer service and day-to-day operations, while consistently demonstrating dedication to his team and the Jiffy Lube business.”

The number of Subway restaurant locations scheduled to begin accepting MasterCard’s PayPass contactless payment (mobile commerce method of tapping a smartphone against a reader) by the end of the first quarter of 2012.

One year after Seattle’s Best Coffee, part of Starbucks Corporation, started a growth spurt under what was described as a “fresh approach to the coffee category,” the company surpassed 50,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada in the spring of 2011. Locations for the brand include cafes, college campuses, restaurants, hotels, airlines, cruise ships, bookstores, grocery stores, and movie theaters.

Kumon, one of the world’s largest child education franchise systems, surpassed the 300,000 student mark in North America in February.

The number of dollars raised on June 1 for the Tim Horton Children’s Foundation through Camp Day events and activities across North America. Tim Hortons Restaurants Owners donated their entire coffee sales and funds for the day to the charity.

Yum! Brands (parent company of KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) announced in September that in the first three years of their World Hunger Relief campaign the company has raised nearly $85 million, which has gone to help the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and other hunger relief agencies provide approximately 350 million meals for  people in developing countries around the world.

The IFA has released a new study stating that President Obama’s health care plan with stunt jobs growth when it comes into effect in 2014.

According the franchising lobbying group, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will ‘negatively impact’ ‘tens of thousands’ of jobs and impact 3.2 million fulltime employees. As the Wall-Street Journal reports, the poll was conducted by free-market policy think tank, the Hudson Institute.

The report is especially critical on the government for forcing food and hospitality franchises to provide health care for their staff. As the report itself states:

“The health care law unintentionally discourages franchisees from owning and operating multiple locations. The law creates a competitive disadvantage for franchisees who do own more than one or two locations. The employer mandate in the law provides an incentive for franchisors and franchisees to replace full- time workers with part-time and temporary workers.”

Interestingly, Susan Mills, head of the SBA, has come out in favor of the health-care legislation in an interview with the Wall-Street Journal:

“Currently, small businesses pay around 18% more than big businesses for the same health insurance because of administrative costs…every day, America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners are finding more ways to access affordable health insurance coverage because of the Affordable Care Act.”

Still, many franchisors like Gordon Logan of Sports Clips remains opposed to the act. We hope the IFA can continue to use its lobbying power to ensure the continued growth of franchising.

Exciting construction news from London as McDonald’s has announced plans to open its largest restaurant in the world in time for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

If you’ve been to any of the big McDonald’s in Times Square or Piccadilly Circus, be ready to have your minds blown away. This restaurant will seat 1,500 people. That will make it one of the largest restaurants on the planet. It will be spread over two storeys and 3,000 square feet. As the Guardian reports, the flagship McDonald’s is one of four Golden Arches planned for the area around the Olympic Park.

McDonald’s is a longtime sponsor of the Olympics so it’s not a surprise to see the franchise investing so heavily in the 2012 summer games, though the thought of 1,500 seater restaurant is staggering to me.

Interestingly, there’s a Wikipedia entry for the ”World Largest McDonald’s”. According to the internet encyclopedia, you’ll find the world’s largest McDonald’s on the Will Rogers Turnpike in Oklahoma. It’s square footage is over 23,000 sq feet. Wikipedia also say that McDonald’s in Russia, Orlando and China all claim the prize. McDonald’s has made it clear that the London Olympics franchise will be wear the crown as the world’s alrgest.

Franchise investors are clued-in people. They are not necessarily looking to purchase a well-established franchise with total market saturation. The true breakthrough potential often lies in that blue-chip, up-and-coming franchise.

But how does one spot the next great franchise brands? There is a lot of competition out there. Thankfully, the website The Street has profiled seven franchises likely to boom in the coming years. The list includes Guier Fence, Medi-Weightloss Clinics, We Do Lines, Elevation Burger, Dogtopia, Fibrenew and Firestorm. These are interestingly-named, innovative franchises that either bring a fresh approach to a crowded franchise field or, as in the case of We Do Lines, invent a brand-new sector of franchising.

This story features very thorough reporting on each franchise brand, as well as an explanation as to what makes these franchises stand out from the rest of the pack. “Being recession-proof helps, of course, an example being that in any economy there will be demand for someone to install fencing. Being necessary but not necessarily glamorous is another common trait of growing franchises, like a business that paints the stripes on parking lots. ”

No franchise investment is a guaranteed success but these businesses that have been marked for bigger things. They’re clearly doing something right.

The Franchise Direct multimedia team has been really busy of late producing exciting new franchise videos.

We provided some info on a range of new franchise videos last week. Today, I’d like to draw your attention to a number of new ones. I think these are notable because these have all been produced in-house by Franchise Direct and feature direct interviews with important people within the franchise organization. These videos are a great resource for entrepreneurs looking for franchise information presented in a concise, televisual manner.

Candy Bouquet is one of the top franchise opportunities in the country. Started by Margaret McEntire in her own garage, the candy franchise has blossomed and received countless awards. Margaret is one of the most decorated entrepreneurs in franchising and she explains exactly how she has built Candy Bouquet into one of Ameica’s best franchises in this video interview.

It’s common knowledge that senior care franchises will be one of the biggest growth franchises in the coming decades, and as the market grows more competitive, it’s hard to know which franchise to invest in. IKOR, Inc is one of the better franchises in the industry and in this interview with Michelle Chirchirillo, their president Cynthia Gartman discusses the mechanics of the franchise.

Children’s franchises are on the rise and if you love working with kids, then you might be interested to learn more about JumpBunch. This is thriving fitness franchise based in Annapolis, Maryland. They give children fun and healthy fitness programs. Founder of the franchise Tom Bunchman joined Michelle and gave a pretty good idea about the direction he is taking the franchise in in the following video.

Finally, we’ve been noticing a huge spike in interest in barber shop franchises over the past few weeks. If you’re interesting opening a barber shop and are searching for a national brand, Sport Clips is a really exciting franchise concept. They’re the perfect franchise for today’s male. They provide an experience that transcends the simple haircut, as Gordon Logan explains in this interview with Michelle.