ITEM
1
THE FRANCHISOR, AND ANY
PARENTS, PREDECESSORS AND AFFILIATES
Sign Setters
Franchise Co. and its Parent. Affiliates and Predecessors
Sign Setters Franchise Co. (sometimes referred to as
"Sign Setters" or "we") is an Arizona corporation
incorporated in April 2007. The only name under which we do business is Sign
Setters Franchise Co. Our principal business address is 2551 San Ramon Valley
Boulevard, Suite 219, San Ramon, California 94583. Our web site is located at
www.signsetters.com. Our agents for
service of process are identified in Exhibit A.
We are in the business of granting franchises to
establish and operate professional sign post and sign installation and removal
businesses that serve real estate professionals under the Sign Setters� service
marks and trademarks (the "Franchised Business" or a "Sign
Setters Business"). We began offering franchises in July 2007. We do not
directly operate businesses of the type being franchised. However, our
Affiliate (as defined below) and predecessor, Sign Setters LLC, a California
limited liability company ("SSLLC"), has operated a Sign Setters�
business in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay area in northern
California since April 2002. See Item 20.
You will be required to purchase our sign posts,
stakes and brochure boxes from one of our Affiliates, Sign Setters Supply
Company, a California corporation ("SS Supply"). The sign posts,
which are manufactured using a plastic roto mold production process, are more
durable, lighter weight and require less maintenance than sign posts manufactured
from wood or through other plastic processes. In addition, the sign posts are
less expensive than sign posts manufactured from wood and are more
cost-effective than plastic sign posts manufactured through other processes.
Sign Setters has not offered, and does not offer,
franchises in any other line of business. Neither SSLLC nor SS Supply has
offered, or currently offers, franchises in any line of business. Neither Sign
Setters nor SSLLC or SS Supply conducts any business activities other than as stated
above. The principal business address of SSLLC and SS Supply is 2551 San Ramon Valley Boulevard, Suite 219, San Ramon, California 94583.
Except as described above, we do not have any parents
(entities that that directly or indirectly control us), Affiliates (as defined
below) that offer franchises in any line of business or that provide products
or services to our franchisees or predecessors (persons from whom we acquired,
directly or indirectly, the major portion of our assets).
We have written this Franchise
Disclosure Document in "plain English" in order to comply with legal
requirements. Any differences between the language in this Franchise Disclosure
Document describing the terms, conditions or obligations under the Franchise
Agreement or any other agreement and the actual agreement is not intended to
alter in any way your or our rights or obligations under the particular
agreement.
For purposes of this Franchise Disclosure Document,
the term "Affiliate" means any person or entity controlling,
controlled by or under common control with another person or entity. Our
Affiliates include, among other persons, our shareholders, directors, officers,
employees, representatives and agents. Your Affiliates include, among other persons,
your Principals, managers and employees.
The Franchise
The franchisee (sometimes
referred to as the "Franchisee" or "you") will operate a
Sign Setters� Business.
Real estate brokers, salespersons and other
professionals utilize the services of Sign Setters Businesses. The market for
our services is not seasonal. The need for sign post and sign installation and
removal targeting the real estate industry is developed; those services are
typically performed directly by real estate brokers, salespersons and other
professionals (or their employees) and by independent persons engaged solely in
the business of installing and removing sign posts and signs on a local basis.
However, we are not aware of any other professional sign post and sign
installation and removal businesses targeting the real estate industry that
operate on a regional or national basis.
There are no regulations
specific to the sign post and sign installation and removal business. However,
you will be required to comply with all local, state and federal laws and
regulations that apply to businesses and, if you hire employees, local, state
and federal laws and regulations that apply to businesses with employees. You
should consult with your attorney to determine what federal, state and local laws
may affect your Sign Setters Business.
