ITEM 1
THE FRANCHISOR AND ANY
PARENTS, PREDECESSORS AND AFFILIATES
To simplify the language in
this Disclosure Document, "we" or "us" means Fish Window
Cleaning Services, Inc., the franchisor. "You" means the person who
buys the franchise. If the franchisee is a corporation, partnership or other
entity, "you" also may mean its owners. Certain provisions of the
franchise agreement will apply to your owners and will be noted in this
Disclosure Document.
The
Franchisor
We are a Missouri corporation
incorporated on January 9,
1998. We
are solely owned by our President, S. Michael Merrick. S. Michael Merrick is
our predecessor in that he personally capitalized the franchisor at the time of
incorporation. Our predecessor''s and our business address is 200 Enchanted Parkway, Manchester, Missouri 63021; telephone: 1-877-707-3474;
website: www.fishwindowcleaning.com. We
have no other predecessor. We also have two affiliates, FWC Distributing
Company ("FWCD") and Recovery 1
FWC, Inc.
("Recovery"), which are our wholly-owned subsidiaries. Their
businesses are noted below in this Item 1. We do not do business under another
name. FWCD is a Missouri corporation incorporated on August 24, 2004. Recovery is a Missouri corporation incorporated on
June 14, 2007. The principal business
addresses and phone numbers of FWCD and Recovery are the same as ours. Our
agent for service of process in the State of Missouri is Kevin J. Fine, 701 Crown Industrial Ct., Ste. T, Chesterfield, MO 63005. Our other agents for service of process are
disclosed in Exhibit 1.
Our
Experience
Our predecessor, Mr. Merrick,
has worked in the window cleaning business since 1978, first as a sole proprietor and then in December 1985 as sole owner of a Missouri corporation named Fish
Window Cleaning, Inc. ("FWCI"). He has never offered franchises of
any type either personally or through any business entity other than us,
although he did enter into two license arrangements, one in 1984 and one in 1985,
with
individuals for a window cleaning business. Both businesses ceased operation
approximately two years after opening. FWCD offers products to franchisees as
noted in Item 8. It does and has not offered
franchises or operated businesses of the type being franchised. Except for
FWCD, we do not have an affiliate that offers franchises in any line of
business or provides products or services offered to our franchisees. We do,
however, have common ownership with FWCI, although FWCI is completely
independent of Fish Window Cleaning Services, Inc. and is not our predecessor.
FWCI operates a FlSH Window
Cleaning business
in the St. Louis metropolitan area.
We have granted Fish Window Cleaning franchises since January 1998. We have not previously offered franchises in any other
line of business.
Our Business
We grant franchises to
qualified persons for the right to own and operate a Fish Window Cleaning � Business (the
"Business"). We also are in the business of the administration of our
franchise system. We do not operate businesses of the type being franchised.
The franchise granted to you is the right to own and operate a retail Fish Window Cleaning Business pursuant to the terms
of the standard Fish Window
Cleaning Franchise
Agreement (the "Franchise Agreement"). A copy of the Franchise
Agreement is included in this Disclosure Document as Exhibit 2. You will
operate your Fish Window Cleaning franchise within a particular
geographic territory (the "Territory"). The Territory is described in
Appendix B to the Franchise Agreement, During the operation of your Business,
you will use our Marks (as defined in Item 13), as well as our distinctive
products and services, supplies, sales and business techniques and procedures.
Your Business will feature the sale of window and specialty cleaning services
to both residential and commercial clients.
We offer 4 different franchise
"Packages": (1) the Micro Package; (2) the Small Package; (3) the
Standard Package; and (4) the Executive Package. The primary differences
between these four Packages are the Initial Franchise Fee (see Item 5) and the
number of persons assigned and the sales performance requirements for each
Package''s Territory (see Item 12). The Micro Package Territory contains a
population of 40,000 to 60,000 persons. The Small Package Territory contains a
population of 60,001 to 100,000 persons. The Standard Territory contains a
population of 100,001 to 200,000 persons. The Executive Territory contains a
population of 200,001 to 400,000 persons. The Franchise Agreement included in
this Disclosure Document is used for each of the 4 Packages, with modifications
to Appendix B to reflect the type of Package. Except as expressly noted by a
reference to a different Package, the disclosures in this Disclosure Document
apply to each of the 4 Packages.
The Market
and Competition
There is a nationwide,
competitive and developing market for window and specialty cleaning services.
The market competition typically varies from single individuals to small
businesses. You will compete with other businesses performing similar window
and specialty cleaning services, including other national or regional franchise
systems, smaller independent businesses and non-franchised companies. The
services are not seasonal.
Laws,
Regulations, Licenses and Permits
Regulations specific to the
industry primarily consist of environmental regulations concerning discharge of
chemicals into surface water, including the Clean Water Act, the Federal Water
Pollution Control Act, and the Resource Conservation Recovery Act. Federal,
state and local governments also may have other territory specific requirements
that may affect the operation of your Business. There may be other laws
applicable to your Business, which may include bonding or licensing
requirements for businesses performing window cleaning. You also will be
required to comply with all local, state and federal laws in the operation of
your Business. We urge you to make further inquiries about all of these laws.
