Franchise Group
American holding company From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq: FRG | |
| Genre | |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Founder | Brian R. Kahn |
| Headquarters | Delaware, Ohio |
Key people | Brian R. Kahn (CEO) Eric Seeton (CFO) |
| Revenue |  $4.937 billion (2023)[1] |
 $-68.573 million (2023) | |
| Subsidiaries | Buddy's Home Furnishings American Freight The Vitamin Shoppe Pet Supplies Plus |
| Website | www |
On August 21, 2023, it was announced that a consortium of investors had acquired Franchise Group for $2.6 billion.[2]
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]
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Current subsidiaries
- 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
- 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]
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