Archive for Items Categorized 'Avanti Magazine', only excerpts shown, click title for full entry.
Let’s walk down memory lane. When I first became involved with representing 7-Eleven franchisees some 40 years or so ago, franchise fees for a store were a mere nuisance. I recall $1,500, but franchisees in the system before my time remember fess of $1. That was when Southland (remember Southland Corp.?) could not even […]
Each year when spring arrives, I take time to reflect and prune out the old debris of the year past, and like a farmer plant the seeds that hopefully produce a harvest of hope and prosperity. This includes spring cleaning, sorting out my office files, sorting out my e-mail, and planning the course for […]
For the past several years SEI has been pursuing an aggressive growth plan, acquiring smaller chains, building more traditional locations, and converting existing mom-and-pop stores through its Business Conversion Plan. Throughout this time the 7-Eleven system has also been changing—a new ordering system, the new GEA cleanliness standards, new accounting pro- cedures, and other […]
As you may know, the franchise agreement requires SEI to provide bookkeeping services to the franchisee, including maintaining the daily book value of the store inventory. This used to be accomplished utilizing a cadre of accounting clerks in the local market office who knew the franchisee and would call them when there was a […]
The National Coalition bylaws, except for a few minor adjustments years ago, are the same bylaws developed in 1980, the Coalition’s sixth year, under the leadership of then chairman Bill Schuessler. In 1980, 7-Eleven was in the middle of a growth phase and was building some 300 stores a year, which they did for […]
No matter the industry, the business environment is always in flux. Companies that become too comfortable with their positions in an industry and rest upon their laurels soon find themselves struggling to catch up with the changing times and the changing needs of their customers, and before long they’re out of business. Just look […]
It has been a very long time since I have written an article in which I described your rights under the survivorship provisions contained in every store agreement in Exhibit F. The rights given to you in these provisions are extremely important but, from my experience, all too few storeowners are aware of its […]
Communication is the core of all relationships. The speed and velocity of change in communication and communication technology since the beginning of the millennium has been breathtaking. The term “revolution” often feels like an understatement. We are now continuously bombarded with text messages, emails, tweets, and voice mails ad infinitum. While the methodology of […]
The National Coalition and franchisees place a very high value on relationships with our vendor community. Our vendors provide the products that we sell in our stores, and support our customers with brand awareness. Every year, year after year, franchisees are flooded with information on innovative new products, changes in packaging and flavors, and […]
I think everyone would agree that SEI’s goal of building fresh foods sales to 20 percent of overall store sales is a great strategy. It will help us make up for shrinking margins in other critical categories that we’ve depended on in the past, and it will help give us an edge over the […]
