Archive for Items Categorized 'Avanti Magazine', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.

Please Change The Business Model!

  SEI’s current business model is badly in need of repair, especially for owners of low-volume stores. We are facing a very bleak future as the world rapidly changes around us and we barely manage to keep up. If 7-Eleven is to remain the top c-store chain in the country, we need a system that […]

Are We At A Crossroads?

  Being a 7-Eleven franchisee means the primary service we provide is convenience. Our stores are known as the place our guests could come to pick up whatever they need—from food items like milk and bread to coffee, cigarettes, beer, snacks, and much more—24 hours a day. However, as economics and times have changed, we […]

The Joint 2019 Contract Committee

  At the February 2016 Board Meeting of the National Coalition, Greg Franks, Vice President of Franchise Systems, and his team made an extensive presentation regarding the 2019 contract. He emphasized what everyone in the franchise community knows, which is a very high percentage of all franchisees in the system will face renewal of their […]

Is Our 7-Eleven Franchisee Model Feasible Anymore?

  The $15 minimum wage is fast becoming a reality in many states, and $12 per hour will eventually become the federal standard. Seattle, Los Angeles, San Francisco and just last month, the entire state of California, committed to $15 per hour minimum wages phased in over a number of years. In all, 14 states […]

The 2019 Franchise Agreement

  At the February 15-18 National Coalition Board meeting in Monterey, 7-Eleven, Inc. VP Greg Franks gave a presentation on the development of the 2019 contract to 78 assembled presidents and vice presidents representing the 43 Franchise Owner’s Associations around the country. It was the first time SEI has spoken about the 2019 contract at […]

Gross Profit And Product Selection In Hot Foods

  In December, we had more stores reporting a decline in gross profits than in previous months. I asked some franchisees what they thought could be the cause of this decrease and one of their responses was, “We have too many promotions.” While it is true that we need promotions to help drive traffic into […]

FOA Meetings With Local SEI Management Are Mutually Beneficial

  We as franchisees face many different issues on a day-to-day basis while operating our stores. Many are between us and SEI in relation to the operation of our stores, compliance with new sales plans, cleanliness, various policies adopted by SEI, shared responsibilities … you name it and differences can arise on any issue. Most […]

New Developments In The Joint Employer Debate

  In a previous issue of Avanti, we described an initiative of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the United States Department of Labor, which some have characterized as a frontal assault on the franchise model as we know it. The NLRB has alleged that McDonald’s as a franchisor is jointly liable along with […]

Vendors’ Support Is Crucial To Our Mutual Success

  As I write this article, I am on a flight to the 7-Eleven Experience (7EE). The flight is completely full, and most of the passengers are local franchisees and vendors who service our stores. The 7EE offers franchisees a great opportunity to see and identify ways to build their business, and also offers vendors […]

Let’s Lay All Our Cards On The Table

  After the National Coalition’s Board of Directors meeting in San Antonio in October, there were whispers among franchisees and SEI higher-ups not in attendance that NCASEF Vice Chair Jas Dhillon and I had invited a prominent Dallas litigator to the meeting. There was talk that we were planning a lawsuit against our franchisor. Well, […]