IRVINE, Calif. — Driven Brands Inc., Icahn Enterprises and TBC Corp. figured prominently in Entrepreneur magazine’s latest Franchise 500 ranking, each landing two franchise programs in the list’s automotive aftermarket sector.
Among the 15 companies listed in the auto aftermarket category, there were only three tire-centric franchise programs: Big O Tires L.L.C. (No. 91 overall), Tuffy Tire & Auto Service (222) and RNR Tire Express (265).
Quick oil change/lube businesses dominate the list, with five of the 15 franchise programs listed, including the top two – Valvoline Instant Oil Change (57) and Jiffy Lube International Inc. (70). The others are: Grease Monkey Franchising L.L.C. (161); Speedee Oil Change & Auto Service Center (415); and Take 5 Oil Change (426).
Besides Big O Tires, TBC’s other listing is its Midas Intl. Inc. program at No. 199.
Icahn’s franchises in the ranking are AAMCO Transmissions & Total Car Care (224) and Precision Tune Auto Care (277). Driven Brands placed both Take 5 Oil Change and Meineke Car Care Centers (496) on the list; the Take 5 franchise program is relatively new and complements Driven Brands’ company-owned network of stores.
Other auto service franchises on the list are: Christian Brothers Automotive Corp. (261); Mighty Auto Parts (378); and Milex Complete Auto Care/Mr. Transmission (481).
To be eligible to rank, a franchisor must be seeking new franchisees in the U.S. or Canada and must have had a minimum of 10 units open and operating as of July 31, 2019, with at least one franchise located in North America, Entrepreneur said.
Each eligible franchisor was scored based on more than 150 data points — which take into account key factors such as costs/fees; support; size/growth; brand strength; and financial strength/stability — and those with the highest cumulative scores became the Franchise 500.
In addition, Entrepreneur lists three automotive tools franchises: Snap-on Tools (31); Matco Tools (32); and Mac Tools (75).
