Franchising and Marketing Activities (Notes)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Franchising and Marketing Activities [Abstract]

FRANCHISING AND MARKETING ACTIVITIES

Domestic franchisee agreements generally require the franchisee to pay the Company an initial franchise fee for the franchisee's principal office plus a royalty fee that is a percentage of gross commission income, if any, earned by the franchisee. Franchisee fees can be structured in numerous ways. The Company utilizes multiple franchise fee models, including: (i) volume-based incentive (under which royalty fee rate is subject to reduction based on volume incentives); (ii) flat percentage royalty fee (under which the franchisee pays a fixed percentage of their commission income); (iii) capped fee (under which the franchisee pays a royalty fee capped at a set amount per independent sales agents per year); and (iv) tiered royalty fee (under which the franchisee pays a percentage of their gross commission income as a royalty fee). The volume incentives currently in effect vary for each eligible franchisee for which the Company provides a detailed table that describes the gross revenue thresholds required to achieve a volume incentive and the corresponding incentive amounts and are subject to change.

Domestic initial franchise fees and international area development fees were $5 million, $4 million and $5 million for each of the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. Franchise royalty revenue is recorded net of annual volume incentives provided to real estate franchisees of $43 million, $61 million and $87 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

The Company’s wholly-owned real estate brokerage services segment, Owned Brokerage Group, pays royalties to the Company’s franchise business; however, such amounts are eliminated in consolidation. Owned Brokerage Group paid royalties to Franchise Group of $301 million, $358 million and $393 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Marketing fees are generally paid by the Company’s real estate franchisees and are generally calculated based on a specified percentage of gross closed commissions earned on real estate transactions, and may be subject to certain minimum and maximum payments. Brand marketing fund revenue was $82 million, $89 million and $92 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, which included marketing fees paid to Franchise Group from Owned Brokerage Group of $14 million, $15 million and $14 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively. As provided for in the franchise agreements and generally at the Company’s discretion, all of these fees are to be expended for marketing purposes.

The number of franchised and company owned offices in operation are as follows:


	(Unaudited) As of December 31,
	2023	2022	2021
Franchised (domestic and international):
Century 21®	11,972	13,611	14,246
ERA®	2,395	2,407	2,355
Coldwell Banker®	2,140	2,100	2,071
Coldwell Banker Commercial®	189	171	164
Sotheby’s International Realty®	1,071	1,035	986
Better Homes and Gardens® Real Estate	440	418	411
Corcoran®	96	82	122
Total Franchised	18,303	19,824	20,355
Company owned:
Coldwell Banker®	551	606	605
Sotheby’s International Realty®	44	44	41
Corcoran®	28	29	29
Total Company Owned	623	679	675

The number of franchised and company owned offices (in the aggregate) changed as follows:


	(Unaudited) For the Year Ended December 31,
	2023	2022	2021
Franchised (domestic and international):
Beginning balance	19,824	20,355	19,386
Additions	571	548	1,583
Terminations	(2,092)	(1,079)	(614)
Ending balance	18,303	19,824	20,355
Company owned:
Beginning balance	679	675	673
Additions	5	46	25
Closures	(61)	(42)	(23)
Ending balance	623	679	675

As of December 31, 2023, there were an insignificant number of franchise agreements that were executed for which offices are not yet operating. Additionally, as of December 31, 2023, there were an insignificant number of franchise agreements pending termination.

In order to assist franchisees in converting to one of the Company’s brands or as an incentive to renew their franchise agreement, the Company may at its discretion, provide incentives, primarily in the form of conversion notes or other note-backed funding. Provided the franchisee meets certain minimum annual revenue thresholds during the term of the notes and is in compliance with the terms of the franchise agreement, the amount of the note is forgiven annually in equal ratable amounts generally over the life of the franchise agreement. If the revenue performance thresholds are not met or the franchise agreement terminates, franchisees may be required to repay a portion of the outstanding notes. The amount of such franchisee conversion notes or other note-backed funding was $174 million and $182 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively. These notes are principally classified within other non-current assets in the Company’s Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company recorded a contra-revenue in the statement of operations related to the forgiveness and impairment of these notes and other sales incentives of $34 million, $45 million and $32 million for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.