In this FDD Talk post, you’ll learn the following:
- Section I – Background information on the Great American Cookies franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates
- Section II – Estimated initial investment for a Great American Cookies franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2018 FDD
- Section III – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees for a Great American Cookies franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2018 FDD
- Section IV – Number of franchised and company-owned Great American Cookies outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2015, 2016, and 2017, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2018 FDD
- Section V – Presentation and analysis of Great American Cookies’ financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2018 FDD, including information on the:
- 2017 average and median net sales, costs of goods sold, labor, and rent for the franchised Traditional Stores in the sample owned by franchisees with 1-2 Stores, 3-5 Stores, and more than 5 Stores, respectively
- 2017 average and median net sales for the top third, middle third, bottom third, and all 27 Great American Cookies-Marble Slab Creamery Co-Brand Stores that had been continuously in operation for the entire 2016 and 2017 calendar years, that were not supplemented with a Satellite, and that provided the franchisor with the presented financial information for the full calendar year 2017
- 2017 average and median net sales broken down by brand for the 22 Stores that initially commenced operating as either a Great American Cookies or Marble Slab Creamery Store and then added on the other brand to become a Co-Brand Store, and the 5 Stores that initially commenced operating as a Co-Brand Store (separately stated)
Section I – Background Information
13 Things You Need to Know About the Great American Cookies Franchise
Launches New Treat Called “The Brookie”
1. To kick off 2018, Great American Cookies introduced “The Brookie,” which combines the brand’s iconic chocolate chip cookie with a fudgy brownie. All Great American Cookies stores across the United States now serve The Brookie. To celebrate the launch of the new treat, customers were invited to buy 3 Brookies, and get 1 free until February 14, Valentine’s Day.
2. David Kaiser, executive vice president of Great American Cookies, said, “At Great American Cookies, we’re a sucker for a good old fashion love story and in this case, it resulted in one deliciously captivating and colossal treat – The Brookie. Our heavenly brownie and infamous chocolate chip cookie have come together to create a treat that’s truly the best of both worlds. Brownie and cookie. In our book, they are the sweetest royal couple.”
Gives Away Limited-Edition Cookies & Cream Cookie on Tax Day
3. On Tax Day 2018 (April 17 this year), Great American Cookies continued its annual tradition of giving out a free cookie to help alleviate some of the stress that happens on Tax Day. This year, Great American Cookies did something a little different and offered a free Cookies & Cream Cookie, which was a limited-time addition to the brand’s cookie lineup. The Cookies & Cream Cookie featured vanilla cookie dough mixed with premium chocolate sandwich cookie pieces and white chocolate chips.
4. David Kaiser, executive vice president of Great American Cookies, said, “Tax Day can be a bit of a bummer so our annual cookie freebie is our way of ‘sharing the fun of cookies’ and helping everyone take a delicious bite out of Tax Day stress. Our new Cookies & Cream Cookie is sure to delight and we invite everyone to join us on Tuesday, April 17.”
Adds New Premium Double Doozies to Menu
5. In early November 2017, Great American Cookies launched its latest creation, Premium Double Doozies, “pumped up” versions of the brand’s Double Doozies, which are two cookies sandwiched together with icing. The Premium Double Doozies feature new premium icing flavors, Reese’s Peanut Butter, Confetti, and Oreo Cookies ‘N Cream.
6. To celebrate the launch of the Premium Double Doozies, Great American Cookies had a special buy 3, get 1 free deal that ran until January 6, 2018. The Premium Double Doozies combinations include: Double Fudge Cookies with Reese’s Peanut Butter Icing, Birthday Cake Cookies with Confetti Icing, and Domino Cookies with Oreo Cookies ‘N Cream Icing.
7. David Kaiser, executive vice president of Great American Cookies, said, “Great American Cookies’ Double Doozies are extremely popular with our customers and our new icing flavors take these famous treats to the next level. Our delicious fresh baked cookies are complemented with well-known flavors like Reese’s and Oreos and together they are a match made in heaven. Our special buy 3, get 1 free offer makes them perfect treats for holiday celebrations and even Santa himself.”
Company History
8. Great American Cookies was founded as The Original Great American Chocolate Chip Cookie Company in 1977 by Michael Coles and his business partner Arthur Karp in Atlanta, Georgia. The cookie recipe used by Great American Cookies is based on an old family recipe passed down from Karp’s grandmother. The original store was opened in Atlanta’s Perimeter Mall and is still in operation today.
9. Initially, Coles and Karp had a hard time securing a location for the first Great American Cookies store because mall owners and managers felt that the concept would fail. However, the first store was successful within the first month, encouraging Coles and Karp to start franchising the following year.
10. In 1985, the company changed its name to the Great American Cookie Company, which was later shortened again to Great American Cookies.
11. In 1998, Great American Cookies was acquired by Mrs. Fields Famous Brands, which also owned Mrs. Fields Cookies, Pretzelmaker, Pretzel Time, and Hot Sam. A decade later, Great American Cookies and Pretzelmaker were bought by NexCen Brands Inc. for its Quick Service Restaurant portfolio. Great American Cookies’ sister companies now include Marble Slab Creamery, Hot Dog on a Stick, and MaggieMoo’s Ice Cream & Treatery.
12. Since 2010, this portfolio of brands has been owned by Global Franchise Group, LLC, an affiliate of Levine Leichtman Capital Partners, and managed by GFG Management. Great American Cookies celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2017 and the company continues to grow around the world in countries including the United States, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Bahrain, and Guam.
Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500
13. Great American Cookies ranked No. 222 on Entrepreneur’s 2018 Franchise 500 list.
Section II – Estimated Costs
- Please click here for detailed estimates of Great American Cookies franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2018 FDD.
Section III – Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, Marketing Fee, and Other Fees
- Please click here for detailed information on Great American Cookies’ initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2018 FDD.
Section IV – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Outlets
Franchised
2015
- Outlets at the Start of the Year: 324
- Outlets at the End of the Year: 341
- Net Change: +17
2016
- Outlets at the Start of the Year: 341
- Outlets at the End of the Year: 349
- Net Change: +8
2017
- Outlets at the Start of the Year: 349
- Outlets at the End of the Year: 360
- Net Change: +11
Company-Owned
2015
- Outlets at the Start of the Year: 0
- Outlets at the End of the Year: 0
- Net Change: 0
2016
- Outlets at the Start of the Year: 0
- Outlets at the End of the Year: 0
- Net Change: 0
2017
- Outlets at the Start of the Year: 0
- Outlets at the End of the Year: 0
- Net Change: 0
Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2018 FDD) and Analysis
Part 1 – Financial Information for Single-Brand Stores
- The data below presents historical revenue and limited expense information for calendar year 2017 for certain franchised Stores. The expenses listed below do not reflect any start-up expenses that you may incur.
- The sample used to obtain this information includes only franchised Traditional Stores that had been continuously in operation for the entire calendar year 2017, that were not co-branded with another concept or supplemented with a Satellite, and that provided the franchisor with the presented financial information for the full calendar year 2017.
- There were 360 franchised Stores open and operating as of December 31, 2017. Of these, 184 Stores are Traditional Stores that were open the entire calendar year of 2017 and were included in the computation. Of the 176 Stores that were not included in the computation, 87 Stores were Non-Traditional Stores, 71 Stores were Co-Branded Stores, and 18 locations were not open for the entire calendar year of 2017.
- The computation for the same-unit sales includes franchised locations that were open for the entire calendar years of 2016 and 2017.
- Costs of Goods Sold include costs such as the cost of food ingredients used to make finished products, shipping charges, etc.
- Labor Costs may include costs such as salaries and wages for full-time and part-time employees, employer contributions for F.I.C.A. taxes, federal unemployment taxes, state unemployment taxes, workers’ compensation, group health insurance, if any, 401(k), if any, wages for contracted labor, expense of “help wanted” ads, employee training expenses, etc.
- Rent may include costs such as flat rent, percentage rent, common area maintenance, depreciation of leasehold improvements, depreciation of fixtures and equipment, real estate commissions, real estate taxes, real estate insurance, utilities, etc.
- There are other expenses in operating a Store that are not identified in the table below.
- A franchisee may be a multi-Store operator but counted in the 1-2 Store category because of all of his or her Stores, only 1 or 2 satisfied all required criteria (applicable to larger Store categories under the same rationale).
- The data below was taken from financial reports submitted by franchisees. The franchisor has not audited or verified these reports, although it has no information or other reason to believe that they are unreliable.
Overall Sample
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