What Are the Largest Franchises?

When you think of franchises, a few "Big Dogs" may come to mind. However, there are other companies that represent brands you encounter daily, but that you don't associate with a larger parent company. The following franchises are among the largest, in terms of existing franchises and growth, doing business in the marketplace today.

Cendant

may not be a recognizable brand name to you but Super 8, Days Inn, Ramada, TravelLodge, Howard Johnson, Knights Inn, Villager, Wingate Inn, and AmeriHost Inn should ring a bell. Cendant claims to be the world's largest hotel franchisor with 6,400 open hotels on five continents.

McDonald's is the franchise pioneer, having opened its first franchised outlet in 1955 by entrepreneur Ray Kroc. Today, McDonald's boasts over 30,000 restaurants, 70 percent of which are franchises, in 119 countries serving over 50 million customers daily.

Subway is fast at McDonald's heels with over 25,500 restaurants in 84 countries and counting. In fact, Entrepreneur magazine rated Subway the #1 Franchise Opportunity for 2006. Reportedly, there are more Subway Sandwich Shops in the U.S. than places to buy a Big Mac. A little known fact is that Subway has been around since 1965 when Fred DeLuca and his business partner Pete Buck opened up the first Subway restaurant; by 1974 they owned and operated 16 units throughout Connecticut.

Brinker International is the parent company of Chili's Grill & Bar, Chili's Too, Romano's Macaroni Grill, On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Maggiano's Little Italy, Corner Bakery Café, Big Bowl Asian Kitchen, and Rockfish Seafood Grill. Brinker International has won numerous awards and is widely recognized as one of the best managed, most innovative, and progressive companies in the restaurant industry.

GNC, the leader in vitamin and supplement franchises, started in 1935 and began franchising in 1988. Currently, there are more than 5,000 franchises in the U.S. and 38 foreign countries, including Canada and Mexico.

AAMCO claims to be the largest franchise in the transmission repair industry, with over 700 locations in the U.S. and Canada. They also claim to have a 98 percent nationwide recognition rate.

Jani-King has been awarded numerous titles from Entrepreneur magazine since its inception in 1969, including #1 Commercial Cleaning Franchise, #1 Home-Based Franchise, #4 Low-Investment Franchise, #9 Best Performing Franchisor of All Time, #7 Fastest Growing Franchise, #8 Overall Franchise, and the #1 rated commercial cleaning franchise company by Franchise Times magazine. Jani-King has approximately 10,000 franchise owners worldwide.

Pro Golf Discount is part of the $25 billion golf industry with 135 units throughout the US, Canada, Europe, and Asia. Pro Golf Discount has been in business since 1962 and franchising since 1975.

Sylvan Learning Center has been in business since 1979 and franchising since 1980. They have over 1,000 centers in operation. With classroom sizes growing, many students are lagging behind their classmates. Some are even placed into special education programs when all they need is just a little extracurricular help. Education franchises are becoming a dominant presence among franchise concepts, with Sylvan Learning Center leading the pack.