Possibly buying a Quizno's...thoughts?

[CardMinger]

There is a Quizno's for sale in my local area and the guy is in a hurry to sell because he is having a lot of health issues and can't manage it properly. I don't really know much about this but am always willing to look into a potential good deal.

What kind of questions should I be asking him regarding his revenue figures etc in the beginning? If I proceed further I will of course be taking all his books to my accountant for review but I'm just wondering what the main questions I should ask are to determine how good a deal I might be getting.

Also what do you guys think about the overall state of Quizno's as a franchise and about its future prospects?

I will continue updating this thread with actual numbers, prices and revenue figures once I find out more info in hopes that it will help someone considering buying a franchise in the future.

Thanks,
CM

[BradleyT]

Find out if you're buying yourself a management position.

I know typically a franchisee has to pay a small share towards marketing (TV ads, weekly coupon flyers, etc.) but is the "big franchise fee" already taken care of by this previous owner?

Maybe find some other local Quiznos owners and talk to them.

Find out if he does any local advertising. I use the subway coupons on the back of my grocery store receipts all the time.

Send me some coupons for free roast beef dip [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Quiznos website has a free online frachise seminar sept 18th and 22nd - have you already been through the presentation?

[MatthewRyan]

You will probably end up buying yourself a job making sandwiches

[ski]

[ QUOTE ]
You will probably end up buying yourself a job making sandwiches

[/ QUOTE ]

That and I have yet to see a quiznos that was packed at any time of the day. You will be dealing with unreliable HS kids and HS dropouts as employees generally.

[johndenver]

quiznos is pretty bad imo

you know what you should buy instead?

A Pita pit

they are located in college towns usually, always packed, better food, not as well known, but probably cheaper for you than quiznos

[TheJokerIsWild]

I do know that a lot of Quiznos aren't doing very well and a ton of them are losing money. They completely oversaturated the market and diluted the profits of stores that were doing well. A lot of Quiznos owners are unhappy and I think there was talk about a class action.

One of the huge issues was that they force you to buy all of your food and materials from the franchise at allegedly high and unfair prices.

With that being said, find out how profitable his store is and what he is doing wrong. If it's something you can easily fix then you might be able to buy it at a discount and build some value in it if you can make it more profitable.

More than likely though, you will be buying yourself a job making sandwiches and managing teenagers.

Good Luck.

[wiseheart]

Does Quizno's work different than other franchises? I know with Mcdonald's you have to be approved by corporate to buy the store, I would imagine the same is for Quizno's.

[Paul B.]

[ QUOTE ]
quiznos is pretty bad imo

you know what you should buy instead?

A Pita pit

they are located in college towns usually, always packed, better food, not as well known, but probably cheaper for you than quiznos

[/ QUOTE ]

looool I agree [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[SunOfBeach]

Hi,

While I do generally agree with everyone who has posted here already, if I were you I'd simply start out by seeing what his earnings have been, and then determine whether the price he's selling it for seems high/low relative to his historical earnings.

If the impetus to buy is that it may be a good opportunity due to the seller being kind of desperate, then I'd start out by seeing if the price/earnings multiple reflected that desperation. If not, then no need to move further. But if it does, then it may be time to consider some of the points brought up by the OP's.

PC

[spex x]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
quiznos is pretty bad imo

you know what you should buy instead?

A Pita pit

they are located in college towns usually, always packed, better food, not as well known, but probably cheaper for you than quiznos

[/ QUOTE ]

looool I agree [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[/ QUOTE ]

WTF is Pita Pit? I've got a better idea: Since nobody knows WTF Pita Pit is, why not just steal their idea?

Note: I know what Pita Pit is. The point is that they don't (as of yet) have a strong and recognizable brand. Not worth buying a franchise unless you get the benefit of branding and recognition.