International

A lawsuit filed in Australian federal court alleges that Domino's misled franchisees by telling them not to pay employees in accordance with minimum wage law.

People tend to think of Japan as having a homogeneous population, in contrast with the U.S. But it turns out that similar to the U.S., immigrants can be a boon to employers. A case in point is convenience stores.

What with Japan’s labor crunch, Seven-Eleven (7-Eleven is spelled out by the company in Japan) franchisee Mitoshi Matsumoto, 57, found himself working longer and longer hours. Something had to give. He asked his franchisor to allow him to close his 24/7 store for five hours daily, but corporate refused. He closed anyway.

Seven-Eleven warned he would be violating his contract and could not only lose his license, but also be slapped with a $150,000 fine. That's when Matsumoto took his case to the media.

Seven-Eleven (7-Eleven is spelled out by the company in Japan) franchisees in Japan have been facing labor shortages and higher wages. That makes their franchisor’s mandate of staying open 24 hours, seven days a week, a major problem. Franchisees have been pressing for a change to the always-open policy, leading Kazuki Furuya to step aside as Seven-Eleven Japan president.

Early this month Takuya Imai of the Nikkei Asian Review wrote:

Dubai, UAE-based Mansour Bin Jabr says, after establishing a franchise relationship with two international F&B (food and beverage) brands, he will never again invest in a non-UAE-based global franchise. 

Mansour Bin Jabr, founder of Mr Miyagi's, warned against 'ridiculous' franchise fees and mistakes made by international brands who are unfamiliar with the market

A 7-Eleven in Sydney, Australia, has been robbed twice this year by armed men in the very early hours of the morning, while it’s still dark. All other stores in the area are closed at that time, leaving the convenience store the lone lit-up target. Paresh Davaria, the franchise owner, wants to close his location too.

Police recommended the closure of the store between 11pm and 4am, however 7-Eleven has refused Mr Davaria's request.

Australia is in the midst of a Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. While the government rejected the need for the Royal Commission it became evident it would pay dearly in the upcoming election if one did not go ahead.