CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: Overview & Links
Originally published May 13, 2009 [EDITOR’S NOTE: This Page is being recreated. Some Links may not be yet be operable]
Children’s Orchard is a chain of franchised resale shops that buy and sell children’s clothing, furniture, and toys. It was founded in 1980 and, in 2004, was acquired by current CEO Taylor Bond and a group of investors.
According to The Orchard Cooperative website: “Since 2004 when Mr. Bond took charge, 23 new stores have opened, more than twice that number, 49, have closed… More than a third of those that closed their doors during Bond’s reign had opened their doors during his reign as well. Their time was short. Each… lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the process. As if that’s not enough, the franchise invariably and aggressively pursues these owners demanding that they pay them royalties and ad fees for the balance of the ten year franchise period.”
Article Links:
CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: Customer Buys Newburyport Franchise July 24, 2009
CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: A Happy Franchisee? July 16, 2009
CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: Competitor WinMark is Thriving June 6, 2009
CHILDREN’S ORCHARD & Taylor Bond: A Franchise Mystery
CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: Unhappy Franchisees Launch Site
CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: New Site Exposes Blight (Franchise Pick)
Children’s Orchard Website (The Bizop News)
Children’s Orchard: Hyped to the Core? (Franchise Pick)
Comments
40 Responses to “CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: Overview & Links” So Far. Add yours below.
- CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: New Site Exposes Blight : Franchise Pick – Picking the Perfect Franchiseon May 14th, 2009 6:38 am[…] CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: Overview & Links […]
- Children’s Orchard: Hyped to the Core? : Franchise Pick – Picking the Perfect Franchiseon May 14th, 2009 6:44 am[…] a quick example, Webster quotes a past interview with Children’s Orchard CEO Taylor Bond that appeared on franchise advertising portal Franchise Gator. Regarding the […]
- Guest on May 17th, 2009 12:30 pmIf you are a stakeholder in this franchise system, or think you might want to purchase one, then sit down and read this thing carefully and take notes. Don’t be sheeple about this and think that just because someone is a business owner, they are exempt from predatory practices. The contract sizzles with warnings and sirens blare on every page.
- ADMIN on May 31st, 2009 10:05 amCan anyone explain this lawsuit?
http://dockets.justia.com/docket/court-cacdce/case_no-8:2009mc00010/case_id-443917/Children’s Orchard Inc v. Patricia Ann Childs et al
Plaintiff: Children’s Orchard Inc
Defendant: Patricia Ann Childs and Richard A ChildsCase Number: 8:2009mc00010
Filed: May 7, 2009
Court: California Central District Court
Office: Southern Division – Santa Ana Office [ Court Info ]
County: XX US, Outside California
Nature of Suit: Other Statutes – Other Statutory Actions
Cause: Civil Miscellaneous Case
Jurisdiction: Federal Question - Guest on May 31st, 2009 11:01 amyep. A case of a stupid franchisee who stopped paying royality but didn’t stop using the trade name, marks or business system.
There are bad franchisees just as there are bad franchisors.
Actually, this case is both. Bad franchisee, bad franchisor.
- ADMIN on May 31st, 2009 2:47 pmA case of a stupid franchisee who stopped paying royality but didn’t stop using the trade name, marks or business system.
Is Patricia Ann Childs a member of The Orchard Cooperative independent franchisee association? Is her lawsuit related to the TOC website or their campaign?
My guess is no, as I would be surprised if the AAFD or franchisee attorneys counseling TOC wouldn’t have cautioned her that defaulting by withholding royalties but still using the name is a pretty foolish move. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.
I did notice the Childs’ Tustin, CA store is no longer listed on the Children’s Orchard website.
- Guest on June 1st, 2009 9:53 amTo the best of my knowledge, this franchisee kept to herself, was not a member, is in no way associated with the TOC, the website or campaign, and would not accept advice from other franchisees.
BTW, corporate let her hang out there for just about two years before they lowered the boom, (as she had been booted off the CO website in 2007.)
- CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: A Failing Marriage? : Franchise Pick – Picking the Perfect Franchiseon June 10th, 2009 10:24 am[…] Children’s Orchard: One-time lovers become orch-enemies […]
- Guest on June 12th, 2009 1:20 pmHonestly how many lawsuits does Children’s Orchard have going on past and present? These people seem to be in court rather than trying to improve/grow their company and their franchisees. I have seen 4 so far filed this year, between the postings on this website alone. Beware prospective franchisees, this is obviously not a company you want to get mixed up in.
- Unhappy Franchisee: 10 Hottest Topics : Franchise Pick – Picking the Perfect Franchiseon June 13th, 2009 9:20 am[…] Children’s Orchard: Franchisees of a troubled chain started a negative website to get their franchisor’s attention. Unfortunately, the attention is coming in the form of lawsuits – four so far this year. […]
- Guest on June 16th, 2009 10:23 amIt makes it so difficult to describe to readers the “war” like siege franchisees are under.
This is not a case of sour grapes. I implore readers to please go back and read the franchisee agreement comparison posted on the TOC website. The tone and punitive dictates are just the tip of the iceberg.
While remarks posted in this forum about Children’s Orchard can be characterized as negative, I don’t think the TOC website has a negative tone. It is cut and dry.
But at the end of the day, it really does not matter. Taylor Bond is going to steam roll over anyone and everyone “to show the world” who is boss.
- CO Franchisee on June 16th, 2009 12:17 pmAs a CO franchisee I have to agree with the above statements by “Guest” posted on June 16th. The TOC website is not negative, it simply has compiled all the information and laid it out for all to see, one may draw their own conclusions from the information. However, anyone who is business minded in any sense of the word will see the negativity and absolute lucridity of how this franchisor runs things. HIs system would be growing (especially in this economy) and should have been growing since he took over.
- Grace on June 16th, 2009 1:17 pmSorry if I sound like a wet blanket, but this is what happens when folks fall in love with a concept and think the clauses in the franchise agreement don’t apply to them.
My advice to anyone thinking of signing a franchise agreement is to be sure you can live with the consequences of enforcement.
- CO Franchisee on June 16th, 2009 2:31 pmI agree with you Grace. However, the franchisor needs to also uphold his end of the contract, and in more than one case that I know I about, that has not happened. This franchisor has an expceptional way of making himself appear as those he is following the rules, when in reality it is the furthest from the truth. Obviously a franchisor has a few more resources at their disposal than a struggling franchisee. It is a sad state all around.
- Guest on June 18th, 2009 11:46 amDoes this franchisor acknowledge the TOC as the a franchisee organization at all? Don’t most franchisors encourage an oversight group of franchisees to confer with on issues and improvements? Why does this franchisor seem so intent on the franchisees not having a voice?
- Guest on June 18th, 2009 5:46 pmNo, this franchisor does not communicate nor acknowledge in anyway other than being negative, the TOC as an independent franchise association.
Yes, there is a franchisee oversight group under the watchful eye of this franchisor. He determines what topics and issues are valid and worthy of discussion.
He has pre-determined that giving the franchisees a voice, makes him look like a wimp and a loser. They don’t need a voice, it is his business, not the franchisees, and the franchisees must do what he says at all and every cost.
- visitor on June 21st, 2009 8:22 pmHe communicates alright..”see you in court.”
- Kris on June 22nd, 2009 12:38 pmOne of my family members opened a Children’s Orchard under the previous owners. They seemed to be nice people, but when this Taylor Bond guy took over, everything went downhill. They had to spend hundreads of dollars on new registers when the “old” ones worked just fine. The advertising packages were a lot more than the previous ones and he is very strict with what the stores look like. If one little thing is not the way he likes it, then you will experience the wrath of Mr. Bond! This new owner has cost my Dad thousands of dollars, most of his life savings and his “sanity”.
Taylor is a self indulgent business man that cares about nothing but numbers and money to make himself look better. He does not care about his business owners and will sue you for everything you have if you dont live up to his rules. If you are looking to buy into this franchise….run the other way! Dont get caught up like my Dad and countless other did!!! - guest franchisee on June 22nd, 2009 11:28 pmSeems to be a trend, people in this franchise spend their life savings, every second of their time, and then end up in court with the guy who forced the situation in the first place.
- visitor on June 23rd, 2009 8:21 amHave to be honest here. It’s the contract. If you sign a Children’s Orchard franchise agreement, you better understand that the business model is faulty.
Just take a look at a most recent case of a franchisee in Las Vegas, who opened and closed within one year. This franchisee signed an agreement, did what was required, followed the instructions from corporate, and had their clock cleaned by the faulty business model and demand of fees.
Wiped out. Bankrupted. All in one year.
This rogue franchisor requires via the contract, that minimum royalty must be paid quarterly. What this means is that a wet-behind-the-ears franchisee comes out of the shoot with no room to grow. And heaven help them if their location takes a while to respond, because as in the case of the Las Vegas franchisee, they dumped all available cash flow into buying used inventory around the clock which backed them into a corner financially, and when they blinked, their checkbook was empty.
So what does this rogue franchisor do???? He cries but they signed my agreement, and they are bad bad people, I am owed money, I will jump up and down in court until I am paid what I am owed.
Don’t shield your eyes and look the other way. You know who you are. You are the franchisee who knows better and believes that it is easier to “blame the victim” than it is to step up and take a stand against this rogue franchisor. After all you say, I have money invested in this too….and I can’t afford to be singled out by corporate and lose what I have in the process.
So to the readers of this forum, if you don’t understand that the language and requirements in the contract are enforceable, then heaven help you if you think that only bad things happen to the other guy.
Please understand that what you are reading about is trust and good faith taken advantage of by a rogue franchisor who has a perfect right to have his franchise agreement enforced.
- Guest on June 24th, 2009 8:21 amGive me a break!! If I don’t watch out for myself, who will????? Let me tell you a secret, most franchisees lag behind in their royalty payments. Which is a violation of the contract. That is why I don’t do anything that will be noticed.
- guest on June 25th, 2009 12:07 pmExactly, why do you think most franchisees lag behind in their royalty payments, because many owners are struggling and struggling hard, with no help from the franchisor at all. How do you grow a system where many people can’t even pay their bills?
- A Children’s Orchard franchisee on June 30th, 2009 7:13 pmI’ll be glad when my Children’s Orchard franchise agreement ends. Taylor Bond and his staff have run this once great organization into the ground! Check out Taylor Bonds record and you’ll see he has a history of being a failure.
- visitor on July 3rd, 2009 2:03 pmI think what has happened to this franchise would make a good case study of what can go wrong when a franchise system is sold.
The franchisees that signed up under Walt Hamilton ran businesses free from corporate harassment. He appreciated feedback and basically trained franchisees to understand the dynamics of their own locations. He taught to use the business system as a supportive guide line.
Those old franchisees were sold down the river by Hamilton, and he is just as responsible for the demise of this system as much the Bonds are responsible.
- Guest on July 6th, 2009 3:26 amIt is too bad……this concept is a great one and this system should be thriving, if not growing, in an economy where people are trying to save all the money they can. But it is not, something inherently wrong with this particular agreement and model I would say.
- Stacyon July 8th, 2009 9:45 amDoes anyone know who the investers are?
We’re having issue’s w/a different family member and are looking for any business info. - Guest on July 8th, 2009 3:15 pmI don’t know who the investors are, but I would imagine his brother, Adam Bond, who an attorney (and used to be a Selectman in Massachusetts, amid controversy), is one of them. Not really sure, hope others have more info.
- visitor on July 8th, 2009 5:27 pmI do not know for certain, but everything I have researched points to family members as being “investors.”
I strongly believe that if Taylor Bond had to report to a board and/or to investors, he would have been removed as the CEO long ago. His family are enablers, and I do not see any of them having the courage to confront his business practices.
His brother the attorney is on the payroll, so is his wife. I know other family members have visited the corporate offices from time to time. If there are other investors, they must not have not visited the corporate office because it would have been noticeable if a unfamiliar person showed up.
- bob on July 8th, 2009 8:39 pmWhen was the last new franchise sold. And will they ever sell another one?
- Guest on July 8th, 2009 10:56 pmThe last new franchise sold was Las Vegas-Summerlin in which signed in August 2007 and opened in February 2008 (those owners have already closed after just one year of being open) and Apple Valley California which signed in June of 2007 and opened in March 2008. I do not know of any other NEW franchises.
- guest-2on July 9th, 2009 1:56 pmJust FYI, check out Cathy Marks info on Linkedin.com. Her interests are: career opportunities,new ventures,job inquiries, business deals and consulting deals!
- Children’s Orchard store owner on July 9th, 2009 5:55 pmThe last new store opened Nov 22, 2008 in Roseville, CA. I went by their store a month or so ago and the McCues arn’t impressed with their first year or with the help they’ve recieved from Ann Arbor.
- Rufus on July 11th, 2009 11:52 amThis note is for prospective franchisees, if there could be any left at this point:
You need only to know that Taylor Bond is a Taker, and a greedy one at that. Not content to collect the royalty and advertising fees that were corporate’s primary sources of income when he bought the company and became it’s President, he has found introduced several additional ways of unilaterally taking money from franchisees. The include such things a “territory fees”, “minimum weekly and annual royalty fees”, “handing out cache cards to customers for store credit (on which royalties are collected) for signing up to be on a local store’s email”, “handing out cache cards to customers for store credit (on which royalties are collected) when the customers are already pleased to be shopping in one of our stores, etc. The list goes on . . . In my experience it is not an option for Mr. Bond to give his franchisees anything — unless he himself will profit from the transaction, at his franchisees’ expense.
Apparently, his parents never told him the story of the Golden Goose, who would have kept on giving if the owner has been appreciative and not greedy.
- visitor on July 11th, 2009 12:40 pmDoes anyone know how to find a 2009 FDD for this franchise. I am not interested in calling corporate directly, and my state does not keep FDD’s on file.
- visitor on July 13th, 2009 12:35 amYou’ll have to go through the corporate office for that. Just tell them your interested in opening a franchise and they’ll send it right out. They are very helpful at the outset!
- Peteon July 13th, 2009 11:40 pmIn the past, you were able to get the FDD’s from California Secretary of State on line. They would be the same no matter what state you get it from. Good luck.
- visitor on July 14th, 2009 8:24 amThanks Pete, someone else pointed me to a State of California Securities website too, but I didn’t have any luck. I found 2008, but no 2009 FDD. Maybe this franchisor is no longer selling in California?
- guest on July 15th, 2009 3:43 pmcould be, I wish we could see one of the 2009 versions, be interesting to see how many units they say they have open, as opposed to the true number of units.
- guest on July 15th, 2009 3:44 pmCould be, I wish we could see one of the 2009 versions, be interesting to see how many units they say they have open, as opposed to the true number of units. I know several stores have closed since the beginning of 2009
- CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: Customer Buys Newburyport Franchise | Unhappy Franchiseeon July 24th, 2009 8:39 am[…] relationship between Children’s Orchard franchise owners and their franchisor (See CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: Overview & Links). Despite the growth of competing resale franchise chains, unhappy franchisees fault […]
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What store is closing the end of the month?
A store in Ohio.
you’d think these stores would be flowing in the money considering the economy… everyone is looking for bargins and used clothing is a great bargin. So Sad. I used to love to shop at CO now it’s just like paying full price.
Keep in mind while this brand is not doing so hot, other resale brands are doing well. This franchise is managed by screwed up master minds who use whips to get their horses (franchisees) to run in the direction they dictate. The stunning drop in store numbers is proof that their way doesn’t work. They are abusive dictators that fail at every business they touch. They do not have one success to point to, and continue to hammer people until they break. It is criminal what the franchise system allows in this country. The FTC is a joke when it comes to franchisor regulation. Instead of being the great American dream, franchising is the great American nightmare.
From Entrepreneur magazine http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2010/february/204624.html:
“The greatest hand-me-down from the weak economy just might be the resale shop. Sales in second-hand stores leaped $223.3 million last year, according to market research–that’s a 31 percent jump in business, when the rest of retail is foundering.”
“…Uptown Cheapskate. Stores in Salt Lake City and Greensboro, N.C., are already up and running, and four more are slated to open this year. ‘Our stores are doing wonderfully in the recession,’ Sloan says. ‘People are now proud of finding deals–it’s in vogue to be thrifty.'”
And from http://www.entrepreneur.com/trends/index.html
“Resale shops. In 2009, secondhand shops increased revenue by $223.3 million, according to IbisWorld. The National Association of Resale Professionals reports that secondhand stores had an average 31 percent increase in business this year.”
Seems like Children’s Orchard stores should be thriving in this economy.
The articles ADMIN posted only serve to underscore the shambles the Children’s Orchard franchise system is experiencing at the hand of the owners who took over in 2004. I only wish I knew why.
Do the franchisees get anything off the on line store?
From what I can tell, customers of the on-line store need to spend 25 and will get a 5 card to spend in a local Children’s Orchard. This only works if the customer lives within driving distance of a Children’s Orchard. So it looks like the franchisees really get zip.
Any “takers” want to bet on how long this sad looser franchise system will stay afloat? Heard that corporate office staff numbers are smaller, and some corporate office employees must have been pulled, because they have been spotted working at the corporate-owned store on a regular basis. Let’s see now, Taylor Bond boasted a few years ago, when he had over 80 stores he would grow the system to 300, and the latest count is 50 stores! Hey Taylor, you are running toward the wrong goal post!
He is the Bernie Madoff of franchisors!!
An opportunity. That is all I wanted. I wanted a chance to add to our family income. Getting involved in this franchise was the worst mistake of my life. I talked my husband into this and now we are facing bankruptcy. The only opportunity was for the company, not for me. There are real opportunities, like Once Upon A Child or others, but not this one. Be sure to take a long hard look at what the others are doing and please think twice. Or better yet, run away.
The store in my community just closed (Colorado) after being listed for sale for nine months. So sad that the franchise does not allow these store owners the opportunity to make a profit so they can stay motivated to keep the concept alive. I belive they were open just over three years.
The more I read about the experiences of other franchisees, the more I realize I wasn’t alone in being fooled. It looks like this franchise has stopped fooling people, because the store closings are now getting alarming. It clearly is a system in critical distress, and my guess sometime in the next 5 years it will be gone.
I disagree. The Bond’s know exactly what they are doing, they are very smart. I say they will sell off the remaining franchisees to Taylor’s previous employer, Winmark which will make them become OUAC franchisees. Drop into the corporate store sometime and you will see they now have clothing racks exactly like the ones used by OUAC. Taylor is too smart to ruin this business without a grand plan. Believe me he has one.
I agree, the Bonds will probably sell. Probably sooner than later. The value of their business is diminishing as they lose more and more units. The longer they keep it the more value they lose.
If they do sell it would be beneficial to the franchisees. The new owners would probably have more financial resources as well as industry knowledge and leadership skills. Hopefully it is OUAC or Kid to Kid. It would make sense for either of them. They would get approx. $800,000 in royalty income. They could eliminate the current CO staff and overhead and use their own existing staff and overhead. It sounds like a win-win-win. Taylor gets to bail out. Francisees get new competent leadership. New owners get a stream of income with almost no expenses.
The issue is price. Taylor will ask some ridiculous price while prospective buyers will see a system that has lost 40% of its units in the last 5 years and is in general disarray. Therefore, the buyers inclination will be to lowball.
Who knows? Hope for the best.
Taylor Bond Smart? What are you smoking? I’m sure he’s being squeezed by the other investers as they see their investment dry up. This has been a huge failure by this moron, who has probably risked his family’s money. He must be a joy to live with these days.
His family, the enablers, are the “other investors”. There are no outside of the family, investors. That’s the whole problem. No checks and balances. Taylor plays with this business like it is a toy to be tinkered with, and he tries to outsmart the system, which has produced failure.
What happened with the established welcome service franchise that Taylor Bond acquired?
Is there ever any mention of that? Did that go the way of egismoz?
Newcomers still has a website.. but how could it have ever survived… You can start up your own welcome service from another ‘provider’ with a $59 start up kit.. who on earth would fork-out between $25,000 and $35,000 to run this type of business. You can also “work” for Welcome Wagon as an employee.. no start up. Another ridiculous scheme by Mr. Bond.
Yes you are right, scam and more scam. TB never sold one Egizmos franchisee, the Egizmos store opened and closed in less than 1 year, and the Egizmos Ebay store fizzled out and like everything else he touches, turned to crap. As far as Newcommers goes, nope no way no how….not one franchise sold, and the doors were shuttered and shades pulled down and employees, gone. Fancy schmancy website doesn’t mean one thing. The franchisees who are still up and running have had their brand de-valued by the criminal business practices and criminal franchise contract. But no, they just keep smiling and nodding and doing nothing. They simply do not care what has happened to others, as long as they are spared. But that may not be the case in the future.
Here’s a bit of sad irony for you.
The Children’s Orchard blog featured the Parker, CO store
Parker Colorado Store Featured In News Article “Resale Shops Prosper With Weak Economy.”
http://blog.childrensorchard.com/2008/09/22/parker-colorado-store-featured-in-news-article-resale-shops-prosper-with-weak-economy/
“Kenya Huppert, co-owner of The Children’s Orchard at Dransfeldt Road and Plaza Drive in Parker, said …The nice thing about this kind of business is people always need to save money when they can. In a bad economy, you can’t really be hurt in a business like this…”
Evidently you can… “Children’s Orchard in Parker, CO just closed its doors after 3 years.”
http://www.tgtbt.com/w-agora/download_thread.php?site=tgtbt&bn=tgtbt_selling&thread=1268073890#N1268073890
Customers also posted about the closing on the CO Facebook page
Wrong! Just plain wrong! More will close and this franchisor will skate away with no accountability and move on to another business to ruin. For those stores remaining I have a question. Is this stuff OK with you? Has any remaining owner picked up the phone and called Taylor to ask him what is going on? Or do you REALLY believe that stores close because of bad franchisees? This brand has been ruined and stores trying to get out of the system by selling are finding that prospective buyers run screaming away from the corporate headquarters after meeting and talking to the “executive team.” Does anybody out there care? Or is it easier to look the other way and not acknowledge that this system is crashing and burning. On second thought, maybe that’s what the remaining franchisees want…a crash and burn that will set them free….no matter the cost to other people. It. Is. a. shame.
Sorry to learn about the latest closing. Grace is right. Current owners are too afraid to speak up and could care less about what is happening to other franchisees as long as it doesn’t happen to them. Looks like the system count is at about 52 stores right now, down 9 from a year ago. How could you not care?
It is not that the existing franchise owners don’t care. Beleive me, many are completely freaking out. We see the trend to copy Once Upon a Child. What do you think the new buying system is being modeled after? Straight bar racks? Identical to Once Upon a Child. We visited one of their stores and spoke with their owner. Same square footage, higher sales, more merchandise on the floor, lower labor costs. Many of us are shaking our heads thinking this should be a high revenue generating year with the economy and Green trends. But our stores are still struggling! Those that are in existance, it is by the skin of our teeth that we are desperately hanging on.
Do I care? Yes, I think it is wrong that sooo many good people have faced or are facing financial ruin. The only thing I can think of is if TOC can collaborate and higher a good franchise lawyer to help those that were run out of business and those that are barely hanging on, hoping to fulful the life term of their contract. What kind of suit is it when more than one sue the same defendent for various acts? Class action suit.
The hope to sell a store is all but naught, the brand value is worthless and the management of this frachnise have no clue as to what they are doing. Rumor has it that the owner of the Once Upon a Child franchise fired Taylor. Taylor in turn bought Childrens Orchard with the focus to out grow OUAC. IF this is in fact true then I guess the management of OUAC knew a poor leader when they saw one.
We are extremely unhappy with the current situation. Any move that is not in line with C.O. results in threatening emails, if you don’t provide this you will be cut from the CORE program. We can not afford to go under, we are doing everything we can to not to before our contract term runs out. Once the contract is up, we will probably end up having to close as I am not sure if the franchise will sell with the current franchise owners in place. If we had known then what we were getting into, we would have run the other way and invested in something different. However, we are in it for now and have to deal with our store and make sure that we don’t go under.
I do have a sneaky suspicion that Taylor is positioning the remaining stores for sale to OUAC franchisor as there seems to be a concerted effort to model after them right now. I can only hope that happens soon before any of the remaining stores face closure.
Very interesting. If the parent company of OUAC (Winmark) “fired” Bond, then I would question why they would “acquire” COI from him after he has screwed it up and left his fingerprints everywhere?
Selling to Winmark, does not fit Bond’s MO, which is to gamble.
I think all of you are barking up the wrong tree. The owners can survive just fine on 40 stores. They have already controlled costs by paring down their employees and not spending dollars sending Cathy Marks or anyone else out to do store review visits. I wonder how long they will continue to keep her?
Any of you thinking of buying a franchisee, beware! We owned one of the stores that closed, and the corporate office gave out our personal information to customers including addresses, home and work numbers, and anything else they could so we could be harassed! Expect everything to go fine as long as you pay your fees and keep your mouth shut! At the first sign of trouble, you are on your own! If this is the kind of business you want to be in, check out Kid-to-Kid or OUAC. Of the three, CO ranks third! Good luck!
No new locations, only re-sales. That alone should speak for the state of this franchise.
51 stores and I know another is closing in May.
What store is closing in May?
Anything new going on? Has Taylor started any new losing ventures?
New post on Children’s Orchard: CHILDREN’S ORCHARD: CEO Taylor Bond Claims Franchisees Giving “Rave Reviews”
Comments invited.
Maybe the franchisees are cutting off their noses to spite their face, as they say.
“Just In! Listings” sounds like a good marketing idea but when I checked the 9 or so stores in MA only one store had 1 item posted.
How can Children’s Orchard provide improvements if their franchisees won’t participate or use the tools provided? Are CO franchise owners determined to fail to prove themselves right?
Any new stores closing soon?
Just counted open stores on CO website – they are down to 45!!!
In the comments over here there’s a list of the most recent stores to disappear from the list
http://www.unhappyfranchisee.com/childrens-orchard-ceo-taylor-bond-claims-franchisees-giving-rave-reviews/
Check this link out about Bond. http://lucyannlance.com/?p=5989 Scroll down to his pic and listen to the audio. Maybe we should visit her facebook page and put this pages link on there!
Interesting interview, Tom.
Taylor Bond ducks the issue of the historic growth of the company. He talks about the company being founded by Karen Lynch and growing it to 35. He bends over backward to make it seem like it grew directly from there to the “about 50 stores” CO has now… leaving out the fact that he claimed it was “nearly 100” when he took it over and shrunk it to 45.
He pitches the Newcomer’s Welcome Service franchise as a great $10,000 investment. In 2007 he said it was a $25K franchise fee. They have a new website and supposedly have 7 co territories but I don’t think they have a single franchise.
These business shows will portray anyone as a success story.
Slick marketing from a slick character. His “Family Expo” reminds me of the prostitue who slaps on a ton of make-up, perfume, and fancy clothes, and skips bathing.
He can Family Expo from here to the end of time and it will not change the core of his character nor make him honorable.
Down to 44 stores. San Marcos just closed in California.
The “Have a solid business plan and banks will lend you money” quote is funny – what bank in their right mind would loan to someone buying into this failing mess. Does this guy ever shut up? Geez… he needs a public speaking class…uhuhuhuhuh
Is this woman an idiot? She needs to do her homework before promoting such a horrible business. I’m writing a letter to her!
It’s a local business show and Taylor Bond is a local businessman and potential advertiser. It would be interesting to see her reaction to finding out the success story reported on her show was bogus. People should email her the link to this page.
Lucy Ann Lance lucyann@lucyannlance.com
Condolences to the San Marcos store owners.
San Marcos RIP opened in October 2006. The story about their opening references three stores having closed in San Diego.
http://www.childrensorchard.com/images/stories/news/San%20Marcos%20Article%20Union%20Tribune%2012-06.pdf
“In the recent past, there have been three Children’s Orchard boutiques in San Diego that have closed. Marks said two were owned by one person who closed them for personal reasons. The third store was not performing to “our satisfaction,” Marks said.”
Always the franchisees fault.
I am sorry to hear about this latest closing. What a shame.
Of the remaining stores…who plans on re-signing with Taylor Bond..he better get a game plan…we are!
Any one who thinks CO franchises are your only option i have good news. I know of a childrens resale company who has NO long term commitments, NO outragous franchise fees and NO percentage payments based on sales. A very reasonable flat fee and a short 3 year commitment to the program and thats it. You may leave or resign annualy and never feel pressured or stifled by confiscatory franchise practices. We have managed other franchises that grew to over 250 stores nationwide and want to pay it forward and show others how its done. We will be aggressively pursuing CO franchisees whos contracts are expiring and looking for sane and reasonable options. Its time to clear cut the orchard and plant some new crops. Hard work deserves to be rewarded, not punished with punitive fees and confiscatory policies. Contact me if you are interested in making self employment a reality and not an anchor around your neck and business. No one should lose their life fortune from a franchise agreement. Look forward to hearing from you all. Join our winning team! [redacted]
Hi Robin Hood; Spill the beans on this new and improved – franchise. What is the typical start up cost? I am in LA county. What is the name of this children’s store. I’ve always wanted to have my own resale childrens’ store but can’t afford to jeopordize our lifes savings.
43 stores
Hello Leary, i would love to share more with you unfortunately the sensors on this site force creativity in making connections. (redacted) my direct email. If you do FB i can send you to our page if my email addy is redacted. Look forward to sharing with you, always love to help a fellow Californian! So Cal would be a great addition.
RH
Admin note: if you would like to exchange email addresses, send a request to unhappyfranchisee(at)gmail.com. Be prepared to share your real identity and info on the biz opp you are trying to use our site to advertise for free. If you would prefer to get banned from the site, be clever & disrespect our policies one more time, “Robin Hood.” There are reasons we don’t allow emails to be posted.
PS I think you mean “censors.”
The above guy selling his “business opportunity” which probably legally falls under the definition of a franchise, may want to research “Torturous Interference”.
If someone has a contract with someone, and you are inducing them to break it, you may have legal exposure.
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WOW..so grateful for this site. I was looking into buying an existing CO franchise, thinking it would be smart to save on the franchise / territory fees etc. Now I’m completely spooked and would like to thank everyone for taking the time to post your thoughts & experiences with the Franchisor. I think I’m going to hold out and see if they sell out before I make any moves.
In response to Fooled on March 4th.. I was pushing this idea on my husband because I love the whole concept too. Such a shame, I’m so sorry. Best of luck!