Wasch Raines LLP represents dozens of startup and emerging franchise brands. One of the hottest franchise brands in our firm’s portfolio is Body20, which offers the sale of training facilities utilizing the latest in Electro Muscle Stimulation (EMS) technology. Body20’s U.S. headquarters is in Wilton Manors, Florida, just north of downtown Ft. Lauderdale. The owner of the brand is South African native Bertus Albertse. Bertus has been growing the Body20 brand in South Africa since 2013 and recently won the FASA newcomer of the year award in SA. Bertus was featured in SA’s Entrepreneur Magazine earlier this year acknowledging Body20’s dominance in the EMS training market.
In July 2018, Bertus was again featured in Entrepreneur Magazine on the cover in the article “How Bertus Albertse Overcame Adversity to Build a R80 Million Franchising Business”. Body 20 U.S. is franchising in Florida, South Carolina and Colorado but territories are available across the country.
“Bringing a hot, emerging franchise brand like Body20 to the United States can be complex but working with Bertus and his team made it a lot of fun and relatively seamless,” said partner Adam G. Wasch. “Bert is one of the most energetic and focused entrepreneurs we’ve had the pleasure of working with in the franchising industry. The growth model for Body20 is to blitz the market and open as many gyms as possible. The Wasch Raines team has been assisting Body20 about a closing per month, and, based on the reasonable initial investment projections in the FDD, we expect that trend to ramp up significantly in the first quarter of 2019. The Body20 franchise owners are excited, and we look forward to seeing the Body20 brand head west into states like Colorado early next year.”
Federal law prevents international franchise brands from opening shop and franchising in the United States. Those franchisors that attempt to sell franchises without going through proper steps can find themselves with unenforceable agreements, fines, and the requirement to rescind each agreement. Specifically, the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Franchise Rule requires that all franchisors – domestic and international – have a compliant Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) before selling franchises among other rules. The FTC Franchise Rule also applies to master franchise relationships in the United States which might require two FDDs be prepared – one for the master franchisee and one for the unit franchisees.
Wasch Raines LLP has worked with international franchisors from countries like Australia, South Africa, Canada, and India to prepare the required documents needed to franchise in the U.S. and serve as U.S. franchise counsel. If you are interested in bringing your franchise business to the United States, please contact Wasch Raines at 561-693-3221 or email awasch@waschraines.com.
About Wasch Raines LLP
Wasch Raines LLP is a business and franchise law firm providing a comprehensive range of services to emerging and established businesses and franchise companies in a variety of industries. Through its unique business model, the firm offers its clients the benefits of having a cost-efficient in-house general counsel and a full service litigation team. For more information, click here to contact us or call (561) 693-3221.
