Baskin Robbins franchisees, who've been thru 2+ years of hell from Allied Brands Ltd. (ABQ), were feted this week by Dunkin CEO Nigel Travis and interviewed by Smartcompany.com, the same internet news site that first confirmed the Korean and Indian visa scam being run by executives at ABQ.
Travis claims that the 80+ Baskin Robbins franchisees are relieved that he's come to the rescue. This is in conflict with information provided to this blog, where franchisees have said that the company has failed to address the high-cost legacy of Allied Brands, have failed to assist in the missing $1,000,000 of advertising funds that can't be found, have refused to cooperate with ASIC and ASX investigations into ABQ, and other serious issues.
And we have reports that shops are still closing, with two gone in the last two weeks.
Unless positive steps are taken to address the issues that drove this company into a ditch it's unlikely that new franchisee suckers are going to be found to invest in this brand.
ABQ administrator Vincents has yet to have the first creditors meeting, getting almost six months in extensions from the court in Brisbane with no discernible reason and no end in sight. When will the dudded and defrauded Baskin Robbins, Cookie Man, Awesome Water, Kenny's, and other franchisees see some of these crims charged??
