Business View - March 2015 61
A delegation of franchisees and franchisors represent-
ing more than 82,000 businesses throughout Califor-
nia met with state legislators to promote the franchise
industry’s contributions to the Golden State’s economy,
its role in helping California rebound from the recent
recession and the strength of the existing franchise
laws in the state.
“Franchising has created more jobs and sales growth
at a faster pace than other businesses over the past
five years since the recession officially ended,” said IFA
President & CEO Steve Caldeira. “Franchising plays a
critically-important economic role in California and it is
very important that California lawmakers understand
that. To help ensure the continued growth of job-cre-
ating franchise businesses, lawmakers should focus
on pro-growth policies instead of efforts that would un-
dermine the highly-successful, time-tested and proven
franchise business model.”
IFA’s legislative day is also aimed at educating lawmak-
ers about the wide spectrum of franchise businesses
in the state, including such household names as Dom-
ino’s Pizza, The UPS Store, SportClips, Jiffy Lube, FAST-
SIGNS, InterContinental Hotels and California Closets.
“Franchising is much more than quick service restau-
rants. Franchise businesses are proliferating in many
sectors of the economy, including financial services,
healthcare, education, automotive, home improve-
ment, hospitality and a wide range of other important
consumer services,” Caldeira said. “Each of these
businesses is also owned by an independent, local
business owner.”
Collectively, these small businesses employ nearly one
million California workers and generate in excess of
$94 billion in economic output.
“Franchises represent a major pillar of the California
economy and have helped lead the state out of the re-
cent recession,” said Caldeira, who noted that a great-
FRANCHISE
