A business model where a company grants others the right to operate under its brand name and business system. The practice of licensing trademarks and business methods.
From Old French 'franchise' meaning freedom or privilege, from 'franc' meaning free. Originally referred to rights granted by a sovereign, evolving to mean business privileges and licensing arrangements.
Franchising exploded after World War II when returning soldiers used GI Bill benefits to buy franchise businesses. McDonald's became the master of this model, standardizing everything from cooking times to building architecture across thousands of locations.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.