National legislation in collision with franchising or The Swedish Franchise Disclosure Act – total failure or total success?

Abstract

The modern form of franchising – business format franchising – has its origin in the USA in the 1850s when two companies, Singer Sewing Machine Company on the business-to-consumer market and McCormick Harvesting Machine Company on the business-to-business market, first established the business model. It soon spread to other business sectors, such as cars, soft drinks, hotels, and fast food. The business model also spread to other countries, appearing in my country (Sweden) as early as 1933. Franchising is without national boundaries and soon became known as a perfect vehicle for international expansion. Neither the word “franchising” nor a description of the business model could be found in any law anywhere in the world before 1971.