Sunday, March 16, 2008

Arizona Surfer Bitten by the Franchising Bug

A former California surfer, Kevin Blackwell has turned a passion for fitness and smoothies into a mega franchising business. Many Arizona residents are familiar with Cold Stone Creamery ice-cream. Blackwell's Scottsdale-based Kahala Corp. is parent to well-known brands such as Cold Stone Creamery, Blimpie and Samurai Sam's Teriyaki Grill. Many of these franchises have a precence in Arizona. According to this article, Blackwell's vision is to have 10,000 franchise stores worldwide by 2010. Kahala Corp is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona. The article adds that company officials say the Scottsdale-based Kahala Corp. will take its Cold Stone Creamery brand into Scandinavia during the next five years and plans to have at least 40 stores in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

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