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Franchise Group, Inc.
Company typePrivate
Nasdaq: FRG
Genre
Founded2019; 5 years ago (2019)
FounderBrian R. Kahn
HeadquartersDelaware, Ohio
Key people
Brian R. Kahn (CEO)
Eric Seeton (CFO)
RevenueIncrease $4.937 billion (2023)[1]
Decrease $-68.573 million (2023)
SubsidiariesBuddy's Home Furnishings
American Freight
The Vitamin Shoppe
Pet Supplies Plus
Websitewww.franchisegrp.com

Franchise Group, Inc. is an American privately-held holding company that acquires and manages mainly franchise companies. It owns brands in various retail industries including American Freight, Buddy's Home Furnishings, The Vitamin Shoppe, and Pet Supplies Plus.

On August 21, 2023, it was announced that a consortium of investors had acquired Franchise Group for $2.6 billion.[2]

History

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Founded in 2019 through the merger of Liberty Tax and Buddy's Home Furnishings,[3] it originally operated under the name Liberty Tax. However, when it was renamed Franchise Group, the company retained Liberty Tax and Buddy's Home Furnishings as its subsidiaries.[4]

One year after purchasing The Vitamin Shoppe and Sears Outlet,[5] the company purchased American Freight for $450 million in cash in 2020.[6][7] - then Sears Outlet merged into American Freight.[8]

On November 5, 2020, Franchise Group announced that it would acquire Fort Smith, Arkansas-based regional furniture retailer FFO Home, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on the same day.[9] The acquisition was completed on December 29.[10]

In the year it sold Liberty Tax to NextPoint Financial for $249 million,[11] Franchise Group made numerous acquisitions in 2021. Around that time, it purchased Pet Supplies Plus in a deal valued at $700 million,[12] Sylvan Learning for $81 million,[13] and Badcock Home Furniture for $580 million.[14][15]

In August, a group of investors bought Franchise Group for US$2.6 billion. In November 2023, Kahn was identified by Bloomberg as one of two co-conspirators in a securities fraud case, following the guilty plea of John Hughes, co-founder of Prophecy Asset Management[16]

In December 2023, Conn's acquired Badcock Home Furniture &more from the Franchise Group.[17] Conn's ended up filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2024, and liquidated all of its namesake and Badcock stores by October 2024.[18][19]

In February 2024, Unleashed Brands, owner of The Little Gym and Urban Air Trampoline Park, acquired Sylvan Learning from Franchise Group for an undisclosed amount.[20]

On November 2, 2024, Franchise Group announced that they were preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after months of losses and turmoil caused by its owner, B. Riley Financial. HPS Investment Partners, a private equity firm, amongst other lenders, will take over the company once the restructuring is completed.[21] On November 3, 2024, Franchise Group and all of its affiliated subsidiaries filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware. The company plans to keep its Pet Supplies Plus, The Vitamin Shoppe, and Buddy's Home Furnishings stores open during the procedure, while it plans to liquidate American Freight. American Freight suffered major losses due to high rising costs and macroeconomic challenges. Liquidation sales are set to begin on November 5, with stores to close by the end of the year.[22]

Subsidiaries

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Current subsidiaries

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  • American Freight; a chain of discount furniture and home furnishing stores that was acquired in February 2020[7]
  • Buddy's Home Furnishings; offers home furniture including sofas, chairs, dining tables, as well as electronics, and appliances. Buddy's Home Furnishings serves clients in the United States.[23]
  • The Vitamin Shoppe; offers nutritional supplements in every 785 stores across the U.S., as well as online. Acquired by Franchise Group in December 2019 after Irving Place Capital sold the remaining shares of the company and its division, Super Supplements to Franchise Group in the same year.[24]
  • Pet Supplies Plus; offers pet supplies and services in 400-plus locations in 30-plus US states.[25]

Former subsidiaries

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  • Sears Outlet Stores; outlet version of Sears department stores located in various retail locations across the U.S., as well as online. Sold to Franchise Group in October 2019 while Transform Holdco completed the acquisition of the remainder of Sears Hometown at the end of the same business day.[26][27] In April 2020, Sears Outlet was merged into American Freight and the stores were rebranded American Freight.
  • Liberty Tax; facilitates refund-based tax settlement financial products, including tax preparation, refund anticipation loans, electronic refund checks, and personal income tax refund discounting. Liberty Tax Service conducts its business in the United States.[28]
  • Badcock Home Furniture &more; furniture store chain with over 370 company and dealer owned furniture stores in eight states across the southeastern United States.[15]
  • Sylvan Learning; supplemental learning centers which provide personalized instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills, homework support, and test preparation for college entrance and state exams.[29]

References

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  1. ^ "FRG Financials". Yahoo!.
  2. ^ "Under new ownership: Leadership team completes Franchise Group acquisition". Furniture Today. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
  3. ^ "Mini-Berkshire In The Making At Franchise Group: Strong Organic Growth, Accretive M&A To Drive Stock Price". Seeking Alpha. December 14, 2021.
  4. ^ Piper, Michael S. (September 19, 2019). "Liberty Tax, Inc. Changes Name to Franchise Group, Inc". GlobeNewswire. Los Angeles: West Corporation. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  5. ^ "The Vitamin Shoppe to be Acquired by Liberty Tax". Business Wire. San Francisco: Berkshire Hathaway. August 8, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  6. ^ "Franchise Group, Inc. to Acquire American Freight Group, In". GlobeNewswire (Press release). December 30, 2019.
  7. ^ a b "Franchise Group, Inc. Closes on the Acquisition of American Freight Group, Inc". GlobeNewswire (Press release). February 14, 2020.
  8. ^ "Sears Outlet, American Freight Combine to Create One-Stop-Shop for Your Home". GlobeNewswire (Press release). February 27, 2020.
  9. ^ Engel, Clint (November 5, 2020). "FFO Home files for bankruptcy". Home News Now. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  10. ^ Engel, Clint (December 29, 2020). "Franchise Group completes FFO Home purchase". Home News Now.
  11. ^ Pierceall, Kimberly (February 22, 2021). "Virginia Beach's Liberty Tax to be sold for $243 million, will offer consumer loans through LoanMe". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  12. ^ McNulty, John (March 12, 2021). "Sentinel Closes Sale of Pet Supplies Plus". Private Equity Professional.
  13. ^ Ghumatkar, Pranav (September 27, 2021). "Franchise Group acquires Sylvan Learning for $81M". Seeking Alpha.
  14. ^ Thomas, Brad. "Franchise Group Stock: The Plan Is Working". Seeking Alpha. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  15. ^ a b Nutcher, Paul. "Mulberry-based W.S. Badcock acquired by Franchise Group Inc. for $580 million". The Ledger. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
  16. ^ Voreacos, David. "Prophecy Fund Co-Founder Pleads Guilty to $294 Million Fraud". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved November 18, 2023.
  17. ^ "Conn's makes deal that adds W.S. Badcock as a 380-store subsidiary". Furniture Today. December 18, 2023. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  18. ^ "Home Goods Retailer Conn's Files for Bankruptcy Following Sales Declines". Bloomberg. July 23, 2024. Retrieved July 23, 2024.
  19. ^ "Restructuring or shutdown? Conn's documents raise the possibility". Furniture Today. July 24, 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  20. ^ Liedke, Matthew (February 26, 2024). "Unleashed Brands Buys Sylvan Learning". Franchise Times. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  21. ^ "B. Riley-Backed Franchise Group Prepares to File for Bankruptcy". Bloomberg Law. November 2, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  22. ^ "Vitamin Shoppe Owner Franchise Group Filing for Bankruptcy". PYMNTS. November 3, 2024. Retrieved November 3, 2024.
  23. ^ "Buddy's Newco LLC". Bloomberg News. New York City: Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  24. ^ Kaminsky, Andrew F. (December 16, 2019). "Franchise Group, Inc. Closes on the Acquisition of The Vitamin Shoppe". GlobeNewswire (Press release). Virginia Beach: West Corporation. Retrieved December 16, 2019.
  25. ^ "Real Estate".
  26. ^ Kaminsky, Andrew F. (October 23, 2019). "Franchise Group, Inc. Closes on the Acquisition of the Sears Outlet Business from Sears Hometown and Outlet Stores, Inc". GlobeNewswire. Los Angeles: West Corporation. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  27. ^ Aycock, Jason (October 23, 2019). "Sears Hometown and Outlet +2.7% after merger transaction". Seeking Alpha. Ra'anana: Seeking Alpha Ltd. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  28. ^ "JTH Tax Inc". Bloomberg News. New York City: Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
  29. ^ Kirchen, Rich. "Franchiser of Pet Supplies Plus, Sylvan Learning submits bid for Kohl's: Reuters". Milwaukee Business Journal. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
[edit]
  • Official website
  • Business data for Franchise Group, Inc.:
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