Where the units are and who operates them
For every 100 CNPJ deregistrations in franchise networks, 29 establishments drop the brand and remain active under another name
CNPJs of the measured networks that, per year, remain active under another trade name and without the brand, from May 2023 to October 2026, compared with 5.6% per year of deregistrations
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| Segment | New name, per year | Deregistration, per year | Inapt status or suspension, per year | Another network's name, per year | Exits under a new name, share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health, beauty and wellness | 2.2% | 4.2% | 2.2% | 0.0% | 25.6% |
| Food | 1.2% | 6.6% | 3.1% | 0.1% | 10.8% |
| Fashion and accessories | 1.2% | 6.3% | 2.6% | 0.1% | 11.5% |
| Services and other businesses | 2.3% | 6.2% | 3.4% | 0.0% | 19.3% |
| Food, retail and distribution | 0.9% | 6.3% | 1.9% | 0.0% | 9.9% |
| Education | 1.6% | 4.7% | 4.1% | 0.0% | 15.6% |
| Gyms and sports | 1.6% | 3.0% | 0.9% | n/a | 28.5% |
By interval between snapshotsDestination, in the following snapshot, of the active CNPJs with a network's name at the start of the interval. The rate is annualized by the length of the interval.
| Interval | Active CNPJs at the start | Deregistration | Inapt status or suspension | Another network's name | New name | No trade name | New name, per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2023 to October 2025 | 52,349 | 7,092 | 2,086 | 68 | 1,995 | 2,401 | 1.6% |
| October 2025 to October 2026 | 58,895 | 3,350 | 3,021 | 28 | 1,036 | 355 | 1.8% |
Measured networks and general base, rates per yearThe general base is the 1% sample of establishments with a trade name. The name change uses the same rule in both groups, among CNPJs active in both snapshots: names with no word of 5 or more letters in common and a similarity below 0.6.
| Interval | Name change, networks | Name change, general base | Deregistration, networks | Deregistration, general base | Inapt status or suspension, networks | Inapt status or suspension, general base |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2023 to October 2025 | 1.8% | 1.2% | 5.6% | 3.6% | 1.6% | 2.4% |
| October 2025 to October 2026 | 1.7% | 1.2% | 5.7% | 3.7% | 5.1% | 7.8% |
The count of deregistrations does not record an establishment that stops using a network's brand and remains active under the same CNPJ (Brazilian company registry). The comparison of 3 registry snapshots, from May 2023 to October 2026, follows each 14-digit CNPJ attributed to the 503 measured networks and identifies 3,031 cases of this type, equivalent to 1.6% per year. In the same period, the deregistration rate is 5.6% per year, so there are 29 exits under a new name for every 100 deregistrations.
Among the 18,676 exits observed, 55.9% are deregistrations, 27.3% are inapt-status cases or suspensions, 0.5% move to the name of another network in the universe and 16.2% remain active under a new name, a share that rises to 22.3% without inapt-status cases and suspensions. These vary between intervals (1.6% from May 2023 to October 2025, 5.1% from October 2025 to October 2026), a movement also observed in the general base (2.4% and 7.8%, in the same order), which changes the composition of exits. In the general base sample, 99.9% of the inapt-status cases in the last interval are dated from May 2026 onward. By segment, the rate ranges from 0.9% per year in food, retail and distribution to 2.3% per year in services and other businesses. In 28.4% of the new-name cases, the CNPJ also came to have a primary CNAE (national classification of economic activities) code outside those expected for the network. With the same name comparison rule, name changes reach 1.8% per year among network establishments and 1.2% per year in the general base sample.
A change of trade name is a registry record. The base does not report the reason for the change or the status of the contract, and the page publishes only aggregates by segment.
How we calculate
In each snapshot, we took the active CNPJs attributed to the 503 networks that have the Receita Federal (the federal tax authority) section in their network profile, by the trade name expression and the CNAE (national classification of economic activities) subclasses of the census, and checked the status of the same CNPJ in the following snapshot. A CNPJ counts as a deregistration or inapt status by its registration status, whatever the name, and as another network's name when it comes to be attributed to another network in the universe. It counts as a new name when it remains active, without attribution to any network and without the root of the previous brand.
Not counted as exits are spelling changes or changes with a suffix, recognized by the presence of the network name without spaces, a distinctive word of the brand, the acronym or a similarity of at least 0.85 with the name (53 cases), nor a change of CNAE code with the brand kept (469), a name with two brands (1) or a move between networks of the same group (6). The 2,756 CNPJs left without a trade name in the following snapshot, with no deregistration or inapt status identified, are presented separately and are not included in the total of exits.
The annual rate divides the cases by the stock at the start of each interval, multiplied by the length of the interval in years. Cells with fewer than 5 CNPJs are not published.
What this figure does not show
- The registered trade name may stop citing the brand without the unit having left the network, and may continue to cite it after the exit. The indicator measures the registration, not the franchise contract. 8.1% of the new names have the form of a legal name, which makes this case more likely in that share.
- Inapt status is an administrative measure of Receita Federal and may be reversed, so an inapt unit has not necessarily closed.
- Namesakes assigned by the expression enter the stock, and a namesake's name change counts as an exit.
- 0.3% of the new-name cases with a later snapshot return to the same network afterwards, which indicates temporary changes in the registry.
- The comparison is by CNPJ, which leaves out a unit that ends one CNPJ and reopens with another, counted as a deregistration and an opening.
- The first interval mainly reflects companies without the MEI (individual microentrepreneur regime) option, and the same subset is applied to the general base in that interval.
- The status of a CNPJ without a trade name is only known for the most recent reference month, which limits the identification of deregistrations among the 2,756 cases presented separately.
- Segments with fewer than 10 measured networks (tourism and hospitality) do not appear in the table by segment, but are part of the totals.
- The universe is that of networks existing today. Networks that have closed are not included.
Frequently asked questions
How many franchises leave the network without closing?
Based on the comparison of CNPJ (Brazilian company registry) snapshots from May 2023 to October 2026, 1.6% of the establishments of the measured networks switch to another trade name each year and remain active, compared with 5.6% per year of deregistrations. The data come from the registry and do not report the reason or the status of the contract.
Does the franchise closure rate count units that leave the network?
Not entirely. For every 100 CNPJ (Brazilian company registry) deregistrations in the measured networks, there are 29 establishments that remain active under another trade name, which a count of deregistrations does not capture.
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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.