2015 Top 100 Global Franchises: Overview

The Top 100 Global Franchises ranking boasts a diverse set of franchise stalwarts like food and automotive to hotels, child education and so much more. Below is a chart summarizing the quantity of certain types of franchises in this year’s ranking. To no one’s surprise food franchises make up the majority of the franchises in the Top 100 Global Franchises.

The first half of the top 10 is a carbon copy of last year with Subway retaining the #1 spot and what some would refer to as ridiculous growth despite market inconsistencies around the world. McDonald’s remains #2, but the burger giant is in the midst of its roughest patch in decades (more on McDonald’s rough 2014 below). The remainder of the top 5 remains the same with KFC (#3), Burger King (#4 – also profiled below), and 7-Eleven (#5).

The bottom of the top saw some shuffling as Hertz (#6), Ace Hardware (#8) and French grocery chain Groupe Casino (#10) join Pizza Hut (#7) and Wyndham Hotel Group (#9) in the top 10 with strong growth in both unit numbers and revenue.

Top 100 Newcomers

Fifteen is a powerful number for 100 Montaditos (#70). Started 15 years ago, the food franchise is making its first appearance on the Top 100 in 2015 by taking a tradition that started in Spain in the 15^th century around the world. Montaditos are unique tapa-sized rolls of bread similar to a baguette but wider. Each montadito can be filled with a wide array of flavorful ingredients.

Surprisingly, Little Caesars (#67) hasn’t been part of the Top 100 before this year. The pizza franchise is one of the most recognized in the United States, but has vastly fewer international units than chief competitors. By focusing on the convenience of its “Hot-N-Ready” products and on expansion efforts in smaller cities poised for growth, Little Caesars has nonetheless become one of the fastest growing franchises over the past few years.

Popeyes (#43) is focusing on helping franchisees make better decisions regarding location to boost profitability. “The goal of $1.8M to $2M [for first-year sales] is possible [for new freestanding units] because our real estate choices are better” says CEO Cheryl Bachelder. The company is also in the midst of a system-wide remodel of its existing locations. At 2014’s end, about 80% of U.S. units had adopted the brand’s new style.

Newcomer Sport Clips (#92) opened its first franchise outside of the U.S. in Burlington, Ontario, Canada in 2013. A little less than two years later, the specialty hair care salon makes its first appearance on the Top 100 Global Franchises ranking. The company’s VP of Franchising, Pete Lindsey, sheds some light on the leap into international franchising:

Sport Clips was successful for many years before moving past the borders of the United States. What went into the decision to take international expansion slowly? 

Our founder Gordon Logan has always been focused on people. ;We understand the countries that we would be interested in considering, but we focus on who would be the best partner. Sport Clips has a strong values based culture so it is vital that we work with like-minded people. If we find the right people we will consider the country.   

What were some special concerns you had expanding the market for your brand?

Sport Clips is a very support intensive operation. As we are working with licensed service providers (stylists), we need to have a support structure in place prior to expansion. We focus on men’s hair so we make sure we train our stylists on how to cut men’s hair and how to provide that one and only Sport Clips experience that the guys that have experienced it know what I am talking about.

Was there anything that surprised you about expanding into Canada?

There are always surprises. Applying our operations to a new country where the law may be different, addressing the ever important cultural differences and nuances of site selection were all things to address in our application of the brand on Canada. One of the biggest changes was branding to hockey vs. football or baseball in the U.S. 

What is one piece of advice you would give to other franchises considering making the leap out of their home country?

Know how your brand translates into the new market and find the right partners. We found wonderful partners in our Canada expansion and they are getting ready to open our 21^st location in just over two years with 30 more licenses in process. We have and are very excited about our Canadian team. 

Are you looking forward to expanding into other countries soon? 

We don’t have this on a timeline. We are always looking for productive partnerships be they franchisee or a master licensee. Our core is to make sure that we are doing all we can to help our Franchisees (team leaders) be as successful as they want to be. Gordon always reminds us that we need to keep a laser focus on our operations and to continue to provide an exceptional haircut experience. If we continue to do that, all will take care of itself. So [alongside] any expansion Sport Clips considers, degradation of any existing Sport Clips support to our franchisees will not be acceptable. We can’t take our eye off the ball. 

Non-U.S. Companies

Groupe Casino leads the 24 franchise systems founded outside the United States on this year’s list. Coming as no surprise, this French company is doing exceptionally well on the international franchising stage—France remains the #1 franchising market in Europe and has shown consistent growth. Here are some quick facts about the French franchise market via the FFF (Fédération Française de la Franchise):

• Nearly $54 billion annual turnover.
• 1,700+ franchisors and 65,000+ franchisees.
• 60% of franchisees are men.
• 30% of franchise outlets located outside of France.
• Average franchise employs five full-time employees.

Honorable Mentions

Making the Top 100 is not an easy feat. There are literally thousands of franchises that are worthy of recognition. Here are the franchise systems that came just short of the ranking in 2015.