6.	Franchise Rights Acquired, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Franchise rights acquired are due to acquisitions of the Company’s franchised territories as well as the acquisition of franchise promotion agreements and other factors associated with the acquired franchise territories. For the six months ended July 1, 2017, the change in the carrying value of franchise rights acquired is due to the effect of exchange rate changes.

Goodwill primarily relates to the acquisition of the Company by H.J. Heinz Company in 1978, the acquisition of WeightWatchers.com, Inc. in 2005, the acquisitions of the Company’s franchised territories, the acquisitions of the majority interest in Vigilantes do Peso Marketing Ltda. (“VPM”) and of Knowplicity, Inc., d/b/a Wello, in fiscal 2014 and the acquisition of Weilos, Inc. in fiscal 2015. See Note 5 for additional information about acquisitions by the Company. For the six months ended July 1, 2017, the change in the carrying amount of goodwill is due to the effect of exchange rate changes as follows:

	North		United		Continental
	America		Kingdom		Europe		Other			Total
Balance as of December 31, 2016	$	137,543	$	1,145	$	6,884	$	20,566		$	166,138
Effect of exchange rate changes		1,554		63		573		(416	)		1,774
Balance as of July 1, 2017	$	139,097	$	1,208	$	7,457	$	20,150		$	167,912

The Company reviews goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets, including franchise rights acquired with indefinite lives, for potential impairment on at least an annual basis or more often if events so require. The Company performed fair value impairment testing as of May 7, 2017 and May 8, 2016, each the first day of fiscal May, on its goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets.

In performing its annual impairment analysis as of May 7, 2017, the Company determined that the carrying amounts of its goodwill reporting units and franchise rights acquired with indefinite lives units of account did not exceed their respective fair values and therefore, no impairment existed. For all reporting units, except for Brazil, there was significant headroom in the impairment analysis. Based on the results of this test for Brazil, the fair value of this reporting unit exceeded its carrying value by approximately 10%, and accordingly a relatively small change in the underlying assumptions would likely cause a change in the results of the impairment assessment and, as such, could result in an impairment of the goodwill related to Brazil, for which the carrying amount is $19,295.

When determining fair value, the Company utilizes various assumptions, including projections of future cash flows, growth rates and discount rates. A change in these underlying assumptions would cause a change in the results of the tests and, as such, could cause fair value to be less than the carrying amounts and result in an impairment of those assets. In the event such a result occurred, the Company would be required to record a corresponding charge, which would impact earnings. The Company would also be required to reduce the carrying amounts of the related assets on its balance sheet. The Company continues to evaluate these assumptions and believes that these assumptions are appropriate.

The following is a discussion of the goodwill and franchise rights acquired impairment analysis.

Goodwill

In performing the impairment analysis for goodwill, the fair value for the Company’s reporting units is estimated using a discounted cash flow approach. This approach involves projecting future cash flows attributable to the reporting unit and discounting those estimated cash flows using an appropriate discount rate. The estimated fair value is then compared to the carrying value of the reporting units. The Company has determined the appropriate reporting unit for purposes of assessing annual impairment to be the country for all reporting units. For all of the Company’s reporting units except for Brazil (see below), the Company estimated future cash flows by utilizing the historical debt-free cash flows (cash flows provided by operating activities less capital expenditures) attributable to that country and then applied expected future operating income growth rates for such country. The Company utilized operating income as the basis for measuring its potential growth because it believes it is the best indicator of the performance of its business. The Company then discounted the estimated future cash flows utilizing a discount rate which was calculated using the average cost of capital, which included the cost of equity and the cost of debt. The cost of equity was determined by combining a risk-free rate of return and a market risk premium for the Company’s peer group. The risk-free rate of return was determined based on the average rate of long-term U.S. Treasury securities. The market risk premium was determined by reviewing external market data. The cost of debt was determined by estimating the Company’s current borrowing rate.

As it relates to the impairment analysis for Brazil, the Company estimated future debt free cash flows in contemplation of its growth strategies for that market. In developing these projections, the Company considered the historical impact of similar growth strategies in other markets as well as the current market conditions in Brazil. The Company then discounted the estimated future cash flows utilizing a discount rate which was calculated using the average cost of capital, which included the cost of equity and the cost of debt. The cost of equity was determined by combining a risk-free rate of return and a market risk premium for the Company’s peer group. The risk-free rate of return was determined based on the average rate of long-term U.S. Treasury securities. The market risk premium was determined by reviewing external market data including the current economic conditions in Brazil and the country specific risk thereon. A further risk premium was included to reflect the risk associated with the rate of growth projected in the analysis. The cost of debt was determined by estimating the Company’s current borrowing rate.

Franchise Rights Acquired

Finite-lived franchise rights acquired are amortized over the remaining contractual period, which is generally less than one year.

In performing the impairment analysis for indefinite-lived franchise rights acquired, the fair value for franchise rights acquired is estimated using a discounted cash flow approach referred to as the hypothetical start-up approach for franchise rights related to the Company’s meetings business and a relief from royalty methodology for franchise rights related to the Company’s Online business. The aggregate estimated fair value for these rights is then compared to the carrying value of the unit of account for those franchise rights. The Company has determined the appropriate unit of account for purposes of assessing impairment to be the combination of the rights in the meetings and Online businesses in the country in which the acquisitions have occurred. In its hypothetical start-up approach analysis for fiscal 2017, the Company assumed that the year of maturity was reached after 7 years. Subsequent to the year of maturity, the Company estimated future cash flows for the meetings business in each country based on assumptions regarding revenue growth and operating income margins. The cash flows associated with the Online business were based on the expected Online revenue for such country and the application of a market-based royalty rate. The cash flows for the meetings and Online businesses were discounted utilizing rates consistent with those utilized in the goodwill impairment analysis.

The carrying values of finite-lived intangible assets as of July 1, 2017 and December 31, 2016 were as follows:

	July 1, 2017				December 31, 2016
	Gross				Gross
	Carrying		Accumulated		Carrying		Accumulated
	Amount		Amortization		Amount		Amortization
Capitalized software costs	$	130,789	$	110,338	$	126,737	$	101,316
Website development costs		128,808		98,145		119,971		87,736
Trademarks		11,145		10,745		11,092		10,647
Other		8,030		7,645		7,945		7,434
Trademarks and other intangible assets	$	278,772	$	226,873	$	265,745	$	207,133
Franchise rights acquired		4,528		4,528		4,551		4,551
Total finite-lived intangible assets	$	283,300	$	231,401	$	270,296	$	211,684

Aggregate amortization expense for finite-lived intangible assets was recorded in the amounts of $9,015 and $18,190 for the three and six months ended July 1, 2017, respectively. Aggregate amortization expense for finite-lived intangible assets was recorded in the amounts of $8,603 and $17,023 for the three and six months ended July 2, 2016, respectively. The franchise rights acquired related to the VPM acquisition were amortized ratably over a 2 year period. The franchise rights acquired related to the Miami Acquisition were amortized ratably over a 3 month period.

Estimated amortization expense of existing finite-lived intangible assets for the next five fiscal years and thereafter is as follows:

Remainder of fiscal 2017	$	17,528
Fiscal 2018	$	21,364
Fiscal 2019	$	10,195
Fiscal 2020	$	2,420
Fiscal 2021 and thereafter	$	392