Where the units are and who operates them
In 85.3% of franchise units, the operating company has no other unit of the same network
Share of operator units (active establishments per CNPJ) of the 471 networks with at least 30 operator units that belong to companies with no other unit of the same network
See the full table (9 rows)
| Segment | Networks | Operator units | Company with 1 unit of the network | With 2 to 4 | With 5 to 9 | With 10 or more | Excluded units (franchisor and company-owned) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gyms and sports | 21 | 2,079 | 92.8% | 4.2% | 1.1% | 1.9% | 378 |
| Food | 118 | 11,085 | 85.0% | 9.9% | 2.0% | 3.0% | 1,188 |
| Food, retail and distribution | 24 | 5,876 | 85.2% | 13.6% | 1.0% | 0.2% | 40 |
| Education | 31 | 3,194 | 90.8% | 9.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 103 |
| Fashion and accessories | 71 | 8,691 | 83.6% | 13.6% | 1.1% | 1.6% | 430 |
| Health, beauty and wellness | 83 | 11,197 | 78.8% | 11.9% | 4.7% | 4.6% | 1,049 |
| Services and other businesses | 117 | 10,376 | 91.1% | 8.1% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 229 |
| Tourism and hospitality | 6 | 404 | 82.2% | 12.4% | 5.4% | 0.0% | 27 |
| All measured networks | 471 | 52,902 | 85.3% | 10.8% | 1.9% | 2.0% | 3,444 |
Openings by companies that already operated a unit of the networkShare of each year's openings made by a company with another active unit of the same network, from 19.1% in 2005 to 7.5% in 2025, with a peak of 21.8% in 2010. The yearly series is in the CSV file.
Existing operators and multi-brand companies, by segmentA company with units in two segments counts in each, so the companies column does not add up to the total. The share of openings is published only with 100 or more openings in the period.
| Segment | Units in companies with two or more | Openings by existing operators, 2005 to 2014 | Openings by existing operators, 2015 to 2019 | Openings by existing operators, 2020 to 2025 | Multi-brand companies | Units in multi-brand companies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gyms and sports | 7.2% | 12.6% | 17.5% | 3.3% | fewer than 5 | fewer than 5 |
| Food | 15.0% | 18.4% | 14.0% | 7.3% | 32 | 138 |
| Food, retail and distribution | 14.8% | 11.6% | 13.5% | 10.3% | 6 | 13 |
| Education | 9.2% | 9.3% | 6.4% | 5.2% | fewer than 5 | 5 |
| Fashion and accessories | 16.4% | 23.3% | 17.9% | 11.1% | 35 | 141 |
| Health, beauty and wellness | 21.2% | 32.4% | 17.7% | 10.4% | fewer than 5 | 14 |
| Services and other businesses | 8.9% | 9.9% | 6.6% | 5.4% | 5 | 11 |
| Tourism and hospitality | 17.8% | 22.1% | 18.2% | 10.0% | 7 | 19 |
| All measured networks | 14.7% | 18.9% | 13.8% | 8.2% | 84 | 345 |
The eight-digit root of the CNPJ (Brazilian company registry) identifies the company responsible for each establishment. The indicator groups under this root the active establishments that the observatory's census attributes to the networks, removes the roots that correspond to the franchisor or to company-owned operations and describes how the remaining units are distributed among operating companies, always in aggregate and without identifying any of them.
In the 471 networks with at least 30 operator units, 85.3% of the 52,902 units belong to companies with no other unit of the same network, 10.8% to companies with 2 to 4, 1.9% to companies with 5 to 9 and 2.0% to companies with 10 or more. The share in companies with two or more units is 14.7%, ranges from 7.2% in gyms and sports to 21.2% in health, beauty and wellness, and rises with network size, from 10.0% in networks with 30 to 99 units to 25.6% in those with 500 or more.
Companies with units of two or more networks under the same root total 84, 0.14% of operators, and hold 345 units, 81% of them in fashion and accessories and in food. A single pair of networks reaches the minimum of 5 companies in common adopted for publication, Artwalk and Authentic Feet, with 7 companies, networks of the same business group. These figures are a floor, because opening one company per brand does not appear in the CNPJ root.
The share of openings made by a company that already operated a unit of the network went from 19.1% in 2005 to 21.8% in 2010 and 7.5% in 2025, a trajectory repeated in networks with ten years or more since the first unit (7.9% in 2025). The registry does not make it possible to separate an actual reduction in expansion by existing franchisees from a greater adoption of one company per unit.
How we calculate
For each network, we start from the active establishments attributed by the observatory's census in the open CNPJ data of Receita Federal (the federal tax authority), reference month October 2026, and group them by CNPJ root. Before the count, 885 roots and 5,322 establishments of the universe are removed, in this order of criteria. Removed are the franchisor's root recorded in the observatory's franchisor registry (1,445 establishments); a root with an active establishment in CNAE (national classification of economic activities) 77.40-3, primary or secondary (2,172); a root with 10 or more units and at least 25% of the network, or with 5 or more and at least 50% (1,559); and a root whose legal name cites the brand and that has 5 or more units (146). Without this removal, the share in companies with two or more units would be 19.4% in the same networks, and not 14.7%. The measures by network and by segment use the 471 networks with at least 30 operator units.
A multi-brand company is a root, outside those removed, with distinct establishments in two or more networks of the universe. A CNPJ whose trade name matches two networks at once, 57 cases, does not support this count. A pair of networks is published only with 5 or more companies in common.
In the series of openings, each establishment of the network, in any current registration status except annulled, enters in the year of its start date. An opening is attributed to an existing operator when the same root had another establishment of the network started earlier and not yet closed on that date. Only years with 100 or more openings are published, and 2026 is left out because it is partial.
What this figure does not show
- The measurement is by CNPJ and does not capture the franchisee who opens a company for each unit, which underestimates multi-unit franchising. As an attempt to gauge the effect, we linked different roots of the same network and the same state by two signals, neighboring numbering at Receita Federal (up to 20 positions) and an identical rare first term in the legal name, compared only in encoded form. After discounting the coincidence measured by 20 permutations, the share in companies with two or more units goes from 14.7% to about 16.3%, and that of five or more, from 3.9% to 4.1%. The result is also a floor, since nothing links companies without these signals, and address and telephone are not used.
- The same attempt does not support an estimate of multi-brand operation across different roots, because an identical term in distinct networks cannot be separated from a namesake. The total of 84 companies describes only those that use the same root in more than one network.
- The registry does not distinguish company-owned from franchised units. The removal above is a rule: a secondary CNAE 77.40-3 may belong to a franchisee, a very large root in a small network may be a franchisee, and company-owned operations registered in another company with few units remain in the count.
- Attribution depends on the trade name. Namesakes are included and units with another name are left out, and an active establishment with the brand is not necessarily a store open to the public.
- The series reads the CNPJ start date. A change of location and a unit transfer count as openings, and older records have more gaps in the trade name, which weighs on the first years. The same linkage between roots, without discounting coincidence, raises the 2025 share from 7.5% to 8.7%.
Frequently asked questions
How many franchise units belong to owners of more than one unit?
In the 471 franchise networks with at least 30 operator units, 14.7% of operator units are in companies with two or more units of the same network under the same CNPJ (Brazilian company registry) root, and 3.9% in companies with five or more. With the estimate for franchisees who open one company per unit, the first share rises to about 16.3%, and the number remains a floor.
How many franchisees operate more than one franchise brand?
In the CNPJ (Brazilian company registry) records, 84 companies have units of two or more networks under the same root, with 345 units, and only the pair Artwalk and Authentic Feet has 5 or more companies in common. The number is a floor, because a franchisee who opens a company for each brand does not appear in this count.
Is multi-unit franchising growing in Brazil?
The CNPJ (Brazilian company registry) records do not show this growth. Openings made by a company that already operated a unit of the network were 21.8% of the total in 2010 and 7.5% in 2025. The database does not separate an actual reduction from a greater adoption of one company per unit, which does not appear in this count.
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Where the units are and who operates themOther indicators in the same group
Maintained by Marktech, which serves franchise networks and franchises. The brands cited belong to their owners and are mentioned here only to identify the network the data refers to.