ICEDELIGHTS Case Study

The ICEDELIGHTS case brings up several important issues an entrepreneur and a potential franchise owner should consider. It also provides for a study in common sense thinking when evaluating a potential business idea.

The main issue at hand is whether the team of Paul Rogers, Mark Daniels and Eric Garfield should invest in a franchise chain of ICEDELIGHTS stores throughout Florida. Furthermore, if they do invest, how big should the initial investment be, and how should they deal with outside funding.

The group has an impressive set of resumes, the drive, and ambition to potentially pull the business off. However, there were several red flags with the current business proposal that pose a significant threat to the success of ICEDELIGHTS,
ICEDELIGHTS has not proven yet that it can be successful outside of the Northeast or with cross-country franchise operations. The franchises in California and Oregon are not yet up and running and this is a very sizable investment required on an unproven gamble.
Rogers, Daniel and Garfield may be swept up in the excitement of opening a business franchise, and ignoring several pertinent facts and issues. They will not have time to fully vet the real estate market, competition, the main threats, and other potential concerns before they have to sign the agreement with ICEDELIGHTS.
There is already some infighting among the potential owners and differences in opinion that threatens the management team. Mark Daniels appears to be the voice of caution for the group and his concerns are not being taken well by the rest of the team. This infighting could only potentially get worse.
It is somewhat suspect that ICEDELIGHTS corporate team would ignore the dozens of other interested parties (who all have more retail experience than the Harvard team) in favor of going with Rogers, Daniel and